Light collection and illumination systems employing planar waveguide

摘要

An apparatus for distributing light from a waveguide through a collimating array, or collecting light over a given area into a waveguide. Light received within a waveguide is propagated transmissively and retained by total internal reflection, except in response to impinging upon deflector elements which sufficiently redirect the light to escape the waveguide into a collimator array that aligns and distributes the light. In a light collector, a collection array collects and collimates the received light and directs it at the surface of a waveguide, within which deflectors properly positioned in relation to each collector of the collector array, deflect the angle of the light so that it propagates through the waveguide in response to total internal reflection. The apparatus can be fabricated into an efficient and compact form.

主权项

1. An apparatus for light collimation and distribution, comprising:
a planar waveguide having an optically transparent planar material defined by a first planar surface and an opposing second planar surface extending parallel to said first planar surface and having edges disposed between said first planar surface and said second planar surface; said planar waveguide is configured to receive light on one edge of said planar material, and to propagate the received light through said planar waveguide in response to optical transmission and total internal reflection; a plurality of light collimating elements within a collimating array which is disposed in an optical receiving relationship with said first planar surface of said planar waveguide; and a plurality of light deflecting elements formed in said second planar surface, optically coupled to said planar waveguide and configured for deflecting light propagating through said planar waveguide at a sufficiently low angle, below the predetermined critical angle for total internal reflection (TIR), with respect to a surface normal direction of an exterior surface of said planar waveguide to exit said planar waveguide and enter said collimating array; wherein each of said plurality of light deflecting elements is in a predetermined alignment with each of said plurality of light collimating elements; wherein said plurality of light deflecting elements comprises a parallel array of elongated grooves; wherein said grooves are configured at a slope angle θ30 which is bounded by the relationarcsin⁡(n2n1)≤θ30≤arccos⁡(n2n1)in which n1 is the refractive index of the planar waveguide and n2 is the refractive index of an outside medium; and
wherein light received on the edge of said planar waveguide is angularly redirected, collimated, and distributed from the surface of said collimating array which is optically coupled to said planar waveguide.