OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE IMAGING A LINEAR OBJECT

OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE IMAGING A LINEAR OBJECT An optical system provides a multiple image of a linear object, the images focussed on an image array, with the images displaced both laterally and longitudinally relative to each other, a different section of each image in a contiguous, side-by-side position. The multiple imaging is obtained by a plurality of mirrors in a stacked array, the mirrors each tilted about a first axis and rotated about a second axis, the tilt and rotation increasing progressively from the front mirror. The mirrors each have a predetermined optical transmission characteristic, being a maximum for the front mirror and decreasing progressively to the rearmost mirror. - i