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High efficiency non-imaging optics

  • US 6,639,733 B2
  • Filed: 03/16/2001
  • Issued: 10/28/2003
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2000
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method of manufacturing an optical device having two opposing active optical surfaces that convert a first distribution of an input radiation to a second distribution of output radiation, comprising:

  • providing a two-dimensional mathematical model that describes the first distribution of radiation as an input bundle of edge rays and the second distribution of radiation as an output bundle of edge rays, and representing the input and output edge ray bundles each in a phase-space representation in terms of the position of each ray in space and its associated optical cosine, where the locus of the edge rays in the phase-space for the input bundle defines a closed boundary of a first planar shape, and the locus of the edge rays in the phase-space for the output bundle defines a closed boundary of a second planar shape, wherein these two planar shapes have a substantially equal area;

    approximating the two-dimensional shape of the outer caustic of said input and output radiation distribution ray bundles, where the outer caustic is defined such that it does not touch any of said active optical surfaces;

    defining a two-dimensional representation of said active optical surfaces responsive to the boundary conditions of the phase-space representations and the outer caustics, including defining a focal area spaced apart from, and noncontiguous with, said optical surfaces, said active optical surfaces each having a continuous second derivative, said optical surfaces further formed so that the theoretical transmission efficiency of the said first input radiation distribution to said second input radiation distribution, neglecting attenuation losses in the processing path, is greater than about 80% of the maximum transmission efficiency; and

    symmetrically extending said two-dimensional representation of said optical surfaces to provide a three-dimensional optical device.

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