Optimization procedures for digital light beam deflectors

The geometrical dimensions for optimum performance of digital deflectors are derived for various configurations and modes of operation. These calculations show the capacity-speed product (CSP) commonly used as a figure of merit in the evaluation of the performance of digital deflectors to be applicable only for the condition of minimum power consumption of the last deflection stage. For minimum drive voltage the CSP should be replaced by a capacity factor, and other than the commonly considered alternating stage configuration should be used. It is furthermore pointed out that beyond such figures of merit other physical parameters play an important role in the implementation of practical deflection systems, for example, in a twenty-stage system the optical inhomogeneities in each deflection stage should not distort the transmitted laser beam wavefront by more than lambda/100 per stage for a signal-to-noise ratio of 20.