Illumination apparatus with high conversion efficiency and methods of forming the same
First Claim
1. An illumination apparatus comprising:
- a waveguide having a first surface;
embedded within the waveguide, a light-emitting source for emitting source light;
disposed on the first surface of the waveguide, a layer of phosphor-encapsulating material; and
disposed within the layer of phosphor-encapsulating material, a photoluminescent material for converting some of the source light to a different wavelength, the converted source light mixing with unconverted source light to form output light spectrally different from both the converted source light and the unconverted source light,wherein (i) source light is emitted from at least a portion of the first surface of the waveguide, (ii) output light is emitted from at least a portion of the layer of phosphor-encapsulating material, (iii) the waveguide comprises (a) a discrete in-coupling region for receiving source light, (b) a discrete out-coupling region for emitting output light, and (c) a discrete propagation region, spatially distinct from the in-coupling and out-coupling regions, for propagating source light from the in-coupling region to the out-coupling region, and (iv) the photoluminescent material is present only over the out-coupling region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In various embodiments, an illumination apparatus includes a substantially planar waveguide, a plurality of light sources embedded within the in-coupling region of the waveguide, and a film disposed over the out-coupling region of the waveguide. The film has a thickness less than approximately 100 μm and comprises or consists essentially of a photoluminescent material. The photoluminescent material converts a portion of light emitted by at least one of the light sources to a different wavelength. A surface of the out-coupling region has an average reflectivity of greater than approximately 90%. Light emitted by the light sources mixes with light converted by the photoluminescent material to form substantially white light, and the conversion efficiency of the illumination apparatus is greater than approximately 70%.
290 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An illumination apparatus comprising:
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a waveguide having a first surface; embedded within the waveguide, a light-emitting source for emitting source light; disposed on the first surface of the waveguide, a layer of phosphor-encapsulating material; and disposed within the layer of phosphor-encapsulating material, a photoluminescent material for converting some of the source light to a different wavelength, the converted source light mixing with unconverted source light to form output light spectrally different from both the converted source light and the unconverted source light, wherein (i) source light is emitted from at least a portion of the first surface of the waveguide, (ii) output light is emitted from at least a portion of the layer of phosphor-encapsulating material, (iii) the waveguide comprises (a) a discrete in-coupling region for receiving source light, (b) a discrete out-coupling region for emitting output light, and (c) a discrete propagation region, spatially distinct from the in-coupling and out-coupling regions, for propagating source light from the in-coupling region to the out-coupling region, and (iv) the photoluminescent material is present only over the out-coupling region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An illumination apparatus comprising:
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a waveguide having a first surface; embedded within the waveguide, a plurality of light-emitting sources, each light-emitting source emitting a different source light; and disposed proximate the first surface, a photoluminescent material for converting some of the source light of one of the light-emitting sources to a different wavelength, the converted source light mixing with unconverted source light to form output light spectrally different from both the converted source light and the unconverted source light, wherein (i) the output light has a CRI value greater than approximately 70, and (ii) the photoluminescent material is disposed within the waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of forming an illumination apparatus, the method comprising:
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embedding a light-emitting source within a waveguide; and disposing a layer comprising a photoluminescent material above a first surface of the waveguide, wherein the layer is in mechanical contact but not optical contact with the waveguide, wherein (i) the waveguide comprises (a) a discrete in-coupling region for receiving source light, (b) a discrete out-coupling region for emitting output light, and (c) a discrete propagation region, spatially distinct from the in-coupling and out-coupling regions, for propagating source light from the in-coupling region to the out-coupling region, and (ii) the photoluminescent material is present only over the out-coupling region. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification