Design methodology for micro-discrete planar optics with minimum illumination loss for an extended source.

Recently, studies have examined techniques for modeling the light distribution of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for various applications owing to their low power consumption, longevity, and light weight. The energy mapping technique, a design method that matches the energy distributions of an LED light source and target area, has been the focus of active research because of its design efficiency and accuracy. However, these studies have not considered the effects of the emitting area of the LED source. Therefore, there are limitations to the design accuracy for small, high-power applications with a short distance between the light source and optical system. A design method for compensating for the light distribution of an extended source after the initial optics design based on a point source was proposed to overcome such limits, but its time-consuming process and limited design accuracy with multiple iterations raised the need for a new design method that considers an extended source in the initial design stage. This study proposed a method for designing discrete planar optics that controls the light distribution and minimizes the optical loss with an extended source and verified the proposed method experimentally. First, the extended source was modeled theoretically, and a design method for discrete planar optics with the optimum groove angle through energy mapping was proposed. To verify the design method, design for the discrete planar optics was achieved for applications in illumination for LED flash. In addition, discrete planar optics for LED illuminance were designed and fabricated to create a uniform illuminance distribution. Optical characterization of these structures showed that the design was optimal; i.e., we plotted the optical losses as a function of the groove angle, and found a clear minimum. Simulations and measurements showed that an efficient optical design was achieved for an extended source.

Design methodology accounting for fabrication errors in manufactured modified Fresnel lenses for controlled LED illumination.

The increasing demand for lightweight, miniaturized electronic devices has prompted the development of small, high-performance optical components for light-emitting diode (LED) illumination. As such, the Fresnel lens is widely used in applications due to its compact configuration. However, the vertical groove angle between the optical axis and the groove inner facets in a conventional Fresnel lens creates an inherent Fresnel loss, which degrades optical performance. Modified Fresnel lenses (MFLs) have been proposed in which the groove angles along the optical paths are carefully controlled; however, in practice, the optical performance of MFLs is inferior to the theoretical performance due to fabrication errors, as conventional design methods do not account for fabrication errors as part of the design process. In this study, the Fresnel loss and the loss area due to microscopic fabrication errors in the MFL were theoretically derived to determine optical performance. Based on this analysis, a design method for the MFL accounting for the fabrication errors was proposed. MFLs were fabricated using an ultraviolet imprinting process and an injection molding process, two representative processes with differing fabrication errors. The MFL fabrication error associated with each process was examined analytically and experimentally to investigate our methodology.