Modeling and control of piezoelectric cantilever beam micro-mirror and micro-laser arrays to reduce image banding in electrophotographic processes

This paper present a theoretical evaluation of the application of microelectromechanical technology to reduce banding artifacts in electrophotographic printing systems. The proposed system would consist of arrays of micro-mirrors and micro-lasers replacing conventional laser printing mechanisms. Several advantages of the new system include faster printing speeds, elimination of synchronization problems, improved image quality and lower production costs. Each micro-mirror can be a surface micro-machined piezoelectric cantilever beam with a reflective surface. An analytical model for the cantilever beam describing the dynamic relationship between scan line deflection and the applied voltage is derived. Using a closed-loop feedback control strategy, the effectiveness of the micro-mirror arrays in reducing banding was theoretically evaluated. Calculations show that each micro-mirror should be capable of deflecting the scan line a distance of 50 μm or approximately one 600 dots per inch (dpi) pixel by only using a 2 V voltage potential. Using an actual measured line spacing sequence, the operation of the system was simulated. The results demonstrated good tracking and significant reduction of the low-frequency banding components. Emulated images showed significant reduction in banding for a typical 600 dpi print resolution.