Imaging Device With Offset Semiconductor Chips For Uniform Laser Line Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-throughput applications such as commercial printing and 3D lithography require high pixel density and parallelism in imaging devices, which is challenging due to thermal interference and misalignment issues with laser emitting elements arranged in arrays, leading to defects like stripes in the printed image.
Innovation Solution
The imaging device employs a 2D array of semiconductor chips with laser emitting elements arranged in a parallelogram shape, where each pair of adjacent chips is offset to trace non-overlapping parallel lines, and additional columns with selectively operable elements to compensate for misalignment, ensuring uniform spacing and high resolution without thermal interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If laser emitting elements are arranged in a straight line array, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to achieve high pixel density (1200 dpi) without thermal interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a one-dimensional linear array to a two-dimensional array arrangement of laser emitting elements. This dimensional change enables achieving high pixel density (1200 dpi) by distributing elements across both horizontal and vertical dimensions, thereby reducing thermal interference while maintaining high manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the imaging device into multiple semiconductor chips, each containing a subset of the laser emitting elements. This segmentation allows for better thermal management across individual chips while collectively achieving the required high pixel density through the combined 2D array of all chips.
2Ease of operation
If chips are mounted side by side with perpendicular rows and columns, then alignment is simplified, but image quality deteriorates due to stripes caused by insufficient overlap between adjacent chips
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an asymmetric offset arrangement where adjacent chips are shifted by a fraction of the pitch distance in the direction perpendicular to their row orientation. This asymmetric positioning creates the necessary overlap between adjacent chips to eliminate stripe artifacts while maintaining manufacturable alignment tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the mounting parameters of adjacent chips by introducing a controlled offset distance (fraction of pitch) between them. This parameter change enables the laser beams from adjacent chips to overlap sufficiently, eliminating stripe defects while keeping the alignment process practically feasible.
3Manufacturing precision
If additional columns with compensating elements are added, then manufacturing precision improves by compensating for misalignment, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates additional columns of laser emitting elements at predetermined positions at the edges of each chip array. These elements are pre-positioned to compensate for potential misalignment between adjacent chips, allowing the system to proactively correct alignment errors before they affect image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses selectively operable elements in the additional columns to dynamically adjust and compensate for misalignment parameters. By controlling which elements are activated, the system can adapt to actual mounting variations and maintain high manufacturing precision without requiring perfect initial alignment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration achieves high-resolution imaging with uniform line spacing, compensates for misalignment, and maintains image quality by activating additional elements to fill gaps or adjust line positions, reducing thermal interference and defects like stripes.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of individually controllable laser beam emitting elements arranged in a two dimensional main array of M rows and N columns
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5b
AI summary
An imaging device is described for projecting individually controllable laser beams onto an imaging surface that is movable relative to the device in a reference X-direction. The device includes a plurality of semiconductor chips each of which comprises a plurality of laser beam emitting elements arranged in a two dimensional main array of M rows and N columns. The elements in each row have a uniform spacing Ar and the elements in each column have a uniform spacing ac. The chips are mounted on a support in such a manner that each pair of chips that are adjacent one another in a reference Y-direction, transverse to the X- direction, are offset from one another in the X-direction, and, when activated continuously, the emitted laser beams of the two chips of said pair trace on the imaging surface a set of parallel lines that extend in the X-direction and are substantially uniformly spaced in the Y- direction. In addition to the M rows and N columns of elements of the main array, each chip comprises at least one additional column on each side of the main array, each column containing at least one selectively operable laser emitting element capable of compensating for any misalignment in the Y-direction in the relative positioning of the adjacent chips on the support.