A slim apparatus of transferring discrete LEDs' light into an ultra-collimated planar light source

In this paper, we proposed a novel apparatus, which has very slim volume and can transfer light emitted from discrete LEDs into a uniform and ultra-collimated planar light source (UCPLS). This apparatus adopts the two-layer folded frame and two-stage CPC design so that thickness of the entire apparatus can be minimized; especially the feeder in the two-stage CPC design can greatly reduce the thickness of the CPC and make the light passing through the second-stage CPC become much more collimated. In addition, by side-by-side arrangement, a large-sized UCPLS can also be obtained. In our embodiment with an emitting area of the upper LGP of 280 mmX80 mm and a LED with optical flux of 8 lumens used as the light source, the performance according to the related simulation results shows as follows: angular FWHM of the resultant light emitted from the apparatus in the vertical and horizontal is 4.87 degrees and 24 degrees, respectively; spatial uniformity and total energy efficiency reach 84% and 69%, respectively; the average head-on luminance reaches up 5600 nit, yet this apparatus consumes just 60 mW. Furthermore, the results also demonstrate this design has potential to be applied to the product of 23 inches above while thickness of the entire apparatus is only 2.2 mm. (C)2013 Optical Society of America