HIGH SPEED SCANNING SYSTEM WITH ACCELERATION TRACKING

1 . An optical scanning system for imaging a moving substrate, comprising:

a. a stage configured to:

i. undergo movement along an axis, and

ii. support a substrate comprising a plurality of fields during said movement along said axis;

b. a camera in optical communication, through an optical path, with a field of said plurality of fields, when said substrate is supported by said stage, and wherein said camera is configured to capture an image of said substrate comprising said field; and

c. a velocity tracking mirror and an acceleration tracking mirror mounted along said optical path, wherein said velocity tracking mirror and said acceleration tracking mirror are configured to maintain said optical path to stabilize said image of said substrate during said movement of said substrate.

2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first electrical motor, and wherein a movement of said velocity tracking mirror is actuated by said first electrical motor.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein said first electrical motor is a galvanometer.

4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second electrical motor, wherein a movement of said acceleration tracking mirror is actuated by said second electrical motor.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein said second electrical motor is a piezoelectric actuator.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said velocity tracking mirror and said acceleration tracking mirror are adjacent.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an objective lens, wherein said objective lens is configured to move along said optical path and wherein a movement of said objective lens is a function of a movement of said field out of a focal plane of said objective lens.

8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising a third electrical motor and wherein a movement of said objective lens is actuated by said third electrical motor.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a movement of said velocity tracking mirror is a function of a velocity measurement of said movement of said stage along said axis.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said movement of said acceleration tracking mirror is a function of a change in velocity measurement of said movement of said stage along said axis.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein said function of said velocity measurement and said function of said change in velocity measurement are generated by a linear displacement sensor, wherein said linear displacement sensor determines a positional measurement of said stage.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein said linear displacement sensor is a linear encoder.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said optical path comprises a filter configured to reduce a transmission of excitation light to said camera.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein a light source configured to generate said optical path is displaced adjacent to said stage and is not adjacent to said camera.

15 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an additional pair of mirrors comprising a second velocity tracking mirror and a second acceleration tracking mirror, wherein said additional pair of mirrors is mounted along said optical path and wherein said additional pair of mirrors is configured to move along an additional axis.

16 .- 26 . (canceled)

27 . An optical scanning system for imaging a moving substrate, comprising:

(a) a stage, said stage configured to move along an axis, wherein said stage is configured to hold a substrate comprising a plurality of fields;

(b) an objective lens;

(c) a camera capable of acquiring an image of one of said plurality of fields through said objective lens, said image acquired via an optical path defined from one of said plurality of fields through said objective lens to said camera during acquisition of said image;

(d) a motion tracking mirror mounted along said light path;

(e) an electric motor operably coupled to said motion tracking mirror to actuate angular motion of said tracking mirror across said substrate; and

(f) a controller module operably coupled to said electric motor to send a driving signal to said electric motor, wherein said controller module is capable of generating said driving signal as a function of a velocity fluctuation of said stage or substrate movement along said axis.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein said electric motor comprises a galvanometer.

29 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising a sensor operably coupled to said controller module to send a signal comprising a positional measurement of said substrate or said stage to said controller module.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein said sensor is comprises a linear encoder.

31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein said linear encoder is a non-interferometric encoder.