Optical head and printing system forming interleaved output laser light

Abstract

An optical head and printing system for printing an image on a light sensitive print medium includes polarized beam splitting means, and a first and a second group of lasers. The polarized beam splitting means passes light beams with a first polarization propagating from a first surface to a second opposing surface thereof, and reflects light beams with a second orthogonal polarization propagating from a third surface to the second surface thereof. The first group of lasers are disposed in a first plane adjacent the first surface of the polarized beam splitting means for transmitting a first group of diverging laser light beams which are polarized with the first polarization. The second group of lasers are disposed in a second plane adjacent the third surface of the polarized beam splitting means for transmitting a second group of diverging laser light beams which are polarized with the second polarization. The lasers in the first and second group of lasers are positioned at the first and second planes, respectively, with spacings that provide interleaved first and second polarized light beams exiting the second surface of the polarized beam splitting means.