LIGHTING APPARATUS HAVING LOW PROFILE

摘要

Disclosed is a low profile lighting apparatus (170) that is particularly advantageous for use as a backlight for illuminating a display. The lighting apparatus (170) includes a waveguide (172) coupled to a light source (180) for injecting light into the waveguide (170). The waveguide (170) includes a plurality of elongate structures for ejecting lig ht propagating within the waveguide (170) through a predetermined surface of the waveguide. Another embodiment of the waveguide (426) includes a central region (74) of reduced thickness that redirects light propagating within the waveguide (426). The lighting apparatus (170) h as a low profile so it is particularly useful in areas of limited space.