Institute of Physics Publishing Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 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.

[1]  A. Ballato,et al.  Resonance and antiresonance of symmetric and asymmetric cantilevered piezoelectric flexors , 1997, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[2]  J. G. Smits,et al.  The constituent equations of piezoelectric heterogeneous bimorphs , 1990, IEEE Symposium on Ultrasonics.

[3]  F. S. Tse.  Mechanical Vibrations: Theory and Applications , 1978 .

[4]  Hiroyuki Kawamoto.  Chatter vibration of a cleaner blade in electrophotography , 1995 .

[5]  J. G. Smits,et al.  Dynamic admittance matrix of piezoelectric cantilever bimorphs , 1994 .

[6]  S. Timoshenko,et al.  Analysis of Bi-Metal Thermostats , 1925 .

[7]  J. Harris,et al.  Micromachined widely tunable vertical cavity laser diodes , 1998 .

[8]  S. Mallat.  A wavelet tour of signal processing , 1998 .

[9]  H. Fujita,et al.  Electrostatic micro torsion mirrors for an optical switch matrix , 1996 .

[10]  David J. Brady,et al.  Optical properties of surface micromachined mirrors with etch holes , 1999 .

[11]  S. H. Crandall.  The role of damping in vibration theory , 1970 .

[12]  A. Pisano,et al.  Modeling and optimal design of piezoelectric cantilever microactuators , 1997 .

[13]  P D Burns,et al.  Analysis of image noise due to position errors in laser writers. , 1986, Applied optics.

[14]  C F Beards,et al.  STRUCTURAL VIBRATION: ANALYSIS AND DAMPING , 1996 .

[15]  A. P,et al.  Mechanical Vibrations , 1948, Nature.

[16]  Risto Näsänen.  Visibility of halftone dot textures , 1984, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern..

[17]  Rodney Shaw,et al.  Fourier spectra of digital halftone images containing dot-position errors , 1988 .

[18]  Kam Y. Lau,et al.  Surface-micromachined electrostatic-comb driven scanning micromirrors for barcode scanners , 1996, Proceedings of Ninth International Workshop on Micro Electromechanical Systems.

[19]  T. Low,et al.  Modeling of a three-layer piezoelectric bimorph beam with hysteresis , 1995 .

[20]  Noel Maw.  Mechanical vibrations. Theory and applications (second edition): by Francis S. Tse, Ivan E. Morse and Rolland T. Hinckle, 1978, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-205-05940-6, xiii + 449 pages, £19.15 cloth, £9.95 International Student Edition; £0.75 Solutions Manual , 1980 .

[21]  Yi Guo,et al.  An H∞ almost disturbance decoupling robust controller design for a piezoelectric bimorph actuator with hysteresis , 1999, IEEE Trans. Control. Syst. Technol..

[22]  A Blanguernon,et al.  Active control of a beam using a piezoceramic element , 1999 .

[23]  J.G. Smits,et al.  The constituent equations of piezoelectric heterogeneous bimorphs , 1991, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[24]  P C Schubert.  Periodic image artifacts from continuous-tone laser scanners. , 1986, Applied optics.

[25]  Robert P. Loce,et al.  Modeling vibration-induced halftone banding in a xerographic laser printer , 1995, J. Electronic Imaging.

[26]  Richard M. White,et al.  Piezoelectric cantilever acoustic transducer , 1998 .

[27]  Hiroyuki Kawamoto,et al.  Vibration and noise induced by electrostatic force on a contact charger roller of electrophotography , 1995 .