Automatic calibration system for polygon mirrors

An automatic calibration system of polygon mirrors is described. This system consists of the four subsystems: a precise rotary mechanism, a rotary magnetic scale for angular standard, a special photo-electric autocollimator which enables dynamic measurement, and a mini-computer system which controls the compiling and handling of data. The basic principle of the system depends on the self-checking method, so that both the polygon mirror and the standard rotary scale are calibrated simultaneously. A time-conversion method is adopted to detect slight angular difference with high resolution. By way of an example, the calibration of a 12-sided polygon is described. The results obtained are as follows: (1) The calibration can be done automatically in a short time without skill, except for the manual operation of setting a polygon relatively for the magnetic scale; (2) 95% confidence interval of instrumental error calibrated on the system is within $\text{±0.07}$ seconds of arc.