Definition

A device for directing a BEAM of RADIANT ENERGY successively over all points of a given region. In data processing a photo-electronic device for digital reproduction of pictures. The picture is scan­ned linewise and decomposed into a matrix-like raster of individual pixels. In contrast to vectorial DIGITI­ZERS, the information to coherent elements of the picture (lines, symbols) is lost by this rasteriza­tion process. To retrieve these elements the rasterized picture has to be vectorized by pattern recognition methods and manual post-processing.