Light beam deflector performance: a comparative analysis.

The performance of various types of analog light beam deflectors is summarized, and their relative positions in a deflector hierarchy are defined. The three types of deflectors considered are (1) mechanical (galvanometer) mirror deflectors, (2) acoustooptic deflectors, and (3) analog electrooptic deflectors. Material figures of merit are defined and compared, and the theoretical trade-off between speed and resolution is given for each type of deflector.