Improving the scan throughput of polygon scanners

Polygon scanners allow for some of the fastest available line rates for raster scanning imaging. Due to the optical invariant, however, there is a trade-off between the line rate and the number of resolvable points per line. Here, we describe a device that can increase the number of resolvable points per line of mirror-based scanners without sacrificing speed. We first theoretically model the effect of the device on the number of resolvable points per line of a polygon scanner, and then experimentally test this device with both a simplified facet system and a transmission microscope using a polygon scanner. We demonstrate an improvement in the field of view by 1.7 times without a reduction in spatial resolution.