Light-diffusing elements

摘要

A light-diffusing element with high coupling efficiency to LED sources. The light-diffusing element may be a glass monolith that includes a plurality of internal voids. When light propagating through the monolith encounters the internal voids, it is scattered in a transverse direction and exits the lateral surface of the monolith to provide a broad-area illumination effect. The glass monolith has a diameter of at least 0.7 mm and features a numerical aperture of at least 0.6 to facilitate efficient coupling to LED sources. The internal voids have a cross-sectional dimension that ranges from about 100 nm to several microns and a length that ranges from about 1 μm to a few millimeters. The light-diffusing element can be configured as a rod or as a bent or arbitrarily-shaped fixture.

主权项

1. A light-diffusing element comprising:
a solidified glass monolith including internal voids, said glass monolith having a cross-section with a dimension between 1 mm and 20 mm and a numerical aperture of at least 0.7, said internal voids having a cross-section with a dimension between 100 nm and 20 μm, said internal voids occupying between 0.5% and 20% of said cross-section of said glass monolith.