Light beam scanning apparatus

Abstract

A high-resolution light-beam scanning apparatus utilizing only mass-producible holograms instead of utilizing auxiliary optical systems, and capable of compensating for disadvantages. The light-beam scanning apparatus including diffraction gratings for minimizing either: a sum total of values obtained by weighting a square of an optical path length difference between an optical path of a light flux measured along a principal axis of a light beam incident on and diffracted by a first diffraction grating of a rotatable hologram, and incident on and diffracted by a second diffraction grating of a fixed plate to conduct a scanning and converging on a scanning point on an image formation surface, and an optical path of a light flux measured along a marginal ray distanced from the principal axis or an absolute value of the optical path difference thereof; or a sum total of values obtained by weighting a square of a sum obtained by adding an amount of displacement of a light-beam convergent on a scanning point on the image formation surface, to an amount of displacement of the same light. The displacement measured with respect to the principal axis of a phase recorded on the diffraction grating when the light flux is incident on the fixed plate or by weighting an absolute value of the sum. The weighting is conducted at every scanning position of an image formation surface.