LED white light illuminator
First Claim
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1. An illumination apparatus, said apparatus comprisingat least one LED optical source having a predetermined spectral output that is emitted over a predetermined solid angle of 2π
- steradians;
at least one phosphor layer having an entrance surface being configured and arranged to intercept the output from said at least one LED, partially absorb light within said predetermined spectral output of at least one of said LED, and convert it to light having another predetermined spectral output to provide said beam from said apparatus with a preferred spectral content; and
at least one non-imaging concentrator for collecting substantially all of the light emitted by said at least one phosphor layer and re-emitting it as a spatially uniform beam having a diverging solid angle smaller than said predetermined solid angle of 2π
sterdians, said non-imaging concentrator having an entrance aperture, an exit aperture, and a shape that continuously enlarges from said entrance to said exit aperture, said at least one phosphor layer being positioned at and fully across said entrance aperture so that said entrance aperture is substantially uniformly filled by said output of said at least one LED optical source, said output of said at least one LED optical source being directed by said non-imaging concentrator shape to emerge from said exit aperture as said spatially uniform beam of predetermined spectral output.
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Abstract
The invention provides an LED lighting device and method that produces high intensity, spatially uniform, white light in the near and far fields in a reduced package size that does not significantly heat the surrounding environment, wherein the white light is produced by using a phosphor layer in conjunction with at least one LED.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An illumination apparatus, said apparatus comprising
at least one LED optical source having a predetermined spectral output that is emitted over a predetermined solid angle of 2π - steradians;
at least one phosphor layer having an entrance surface being configured and arranged to intercept the output from said at least one LED, partially absorb light within said predetermined spectral output of at least one of said LED, and convert it to light having another predetermined spectral output to provide said beam from said apparatus with a preferred spectral content; and at least one non-imaging concentrator for collecting substantially all of the light emitted by said at least one phosphor layer and re-emitting it as a spatially uniform beam having a diverging solid angle smaller than said predetermined solid angle of 2π
sterdians, said non-imaging concentrator having an entrance aperture, an exit aperture, and a shape that continuously enlarges from said entrance to said exit aperture, said at least one phosphor layer being positioned at and fully across said entrance aperture so that said entrance aperture is substantially uniformly filled by said output of said at least one LED optical source, said output of said at least one LED optical source being directed by said non-imaging concentrator shape to emerge from said exit aperture as said spatially uniform beam of predetermined spectral output.
- steradians;
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2. White light illumination apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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at least one LED having an output in the blue region of the spectrum; at least one other LED having an output in the red region of the spectrum; a phosphor layer having entrance and exit surfaces, said phosphor layer being configured and arranged to intercept the outputs from said LEDs via its entrance surface, partially absorb blue light and convert it to yellow light, and transmit the unabsorbed blue light, along with the yellow and red light, to form a combined output of white light at its exit surface, said white light emerging from said phosphor layer exit surface over a predetermined solid angle; and a non-imaging concentrator for collecting substantially all of the white light emitted by said phosphor layer and re-emitting it as a beam having a diverging solid angle smaller than said predetermined solid angle of said exit surface, said non-imaging concentrator having an entrance aperture for receiving the white light emerging from the exit surface of said phosphor layer and an exit aperture from which said white light emerges spatially and spectrally uniform in the near field of said exit aperture. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification