Abstract: Illumination assemblies, components, and related methods are described. An illumination assembly can include at least one solid state light-emitting device, and at least one light guide including a light homogenization region configured to receive light emitted by the solid state light-emitting device and including a light output boundary. The light homogenization region substantially uniformly distributes light outputted over the light output boundary. A wavelength converting material can be disposed within at least a portion of the light homogenization region. In some assemblies, a light extraction region can be configured to receive light from the light output boundary of the light homogenization region, and can have a length along which received light propagates and an emission surface through which light is emitted. The light extraction region can include a wavelength converting material disposed within at least a portion of the light extraction region.

Abstract: Embodiments of a display comprising pixels formed from suitably tethered deformable membrane-based MEMS subsystems are provided that include the means to dynamically alter the in-plane tension, and thus the effective spring constant, of the deformable membrane being ponderomotively propelled between active and inactive optical states, said dynamic alteration being effected by exploiting transverse piezoelectric properties of the deformable membranes. Manipulating the spring constant can reduce the actuation force required to turn pixels on, thus significantly reducing the operational voltages for the display composed of an array of such subsystems. Since display power rises with the square of the pixel drive voltage, such architectures give rise to more power efficient display systems.

Abstract: The optical performance is enhanced of display systems that use field sequential color and pulse width modulation to generate color and color gray scale values. Such enhancement may be achieved by various data encoding methods disclosed herein that may include temporal redistribution of bit values to mitigate color motional artifacts associated with field sequential color-based display systems, selective combination of intensity modulation, pulse width modulation, and/or the noncontiguous sequencing of primary colors. There is further an intelligent real-time dynamic manipulation of gray scale values in portions of an image that are computationally determined to be images of objects moving against a global background, so as to temporally front load or concentrate the bits comprising such moving objects and thereby further mitigate said motional artifacts using both actual and virtual aggregate pulse truncation across all primary colors being modulated.

Abstract: An optical noise reduction mechanism for reducing undesired frustration of total internal reflected light. Such optical noise may stem from defects in waveguide construction. Such optical noise may also stem from the difference in refractive index between any cladding layers disposed onto the planar waveguide and the refractive index of the medium (e.g., air) between the light sources and the light insertion surface of the planar waveguide. By interposing a material of appropriate refractive index, either as a thin layer onto the light insertion surface of the waveguide or filling the space between the waveguide and the light source, the planar waveguide becomes more tolerant of geometry errors and cladding layer properties because a safe operating area is established between the unadjusted critical angle of the system and the actual range of ray angles allowed admittance into the waveguide.

Abstract: A lighting assembly that includes a cornuate light guide and an annular light extracting and redirecting member. The light guide has a radial light input surface, an axial light input region, radial light output region and a flared region between input region and output region. Light input at the light input surface propagates to and within the light output region by total internal reflection at major surfaces of the light guide. The light extracting and redirecting member has a light extracting element in optical contact with an annular region of one of the major surfaces of the light output region, and a reflective light redirecting element to axially redirect the extracted light with a defined light ray angle distribution.

Abstract: A light emitting assembly comprises first and second segmented light guide structures. The first segmented light guide structure comprises first light guide elements physically connected at one end to a first common backbone member. The second segmented light guide structure comprises second light guide elements physically connected at one end to a second common backbone member. The common backbone members define a fixed separation between adjacent ones of the light guide elements. LED light sources are positioned adjacent the common backbone members such that each of the light guide elements receives light from at least one of the LED light sources.

Abstract: Images are displayed in response to a video signal using a light emitting assembly having one or more optically transmissive substrates, films or sheets, each having at least one pattern of optical elements on or in the substrates, films or sheets. A plurality of light sources are configured to illuminate one or more output areas of one or more of the substrates, films or sheets. The light emitting assembly is configured to emit light through the pattern of optical elements and produce a predetermined luminance profile of the light emitting assembly. At least one of the light sources is dimmed or boosted in response to an input video signal while operating a liquid crystal display as a light valve to illuminate the liquid crystal display by the light emitting assembly.

Abstract: An optical assembly comprises light sources and a light emitting panel member having an input edge to which each of the light sources is optically coupled at a different location along the input edge. Different sets of individual optical deformities on or in at least one of the sides of the panel member each have at least one surface that is shaped or oriented to extract light propagating in the same direction through the panel member in different directions for viewing from different angles through one of the sides of the panel member.

Abstract: A collimated light source with solid-state light emitters in which the solid-state light emitter is optically coupled to a high refractive index reflector optic, which reduces the cone angle of the light input to the reflector optic. Reducing the cone angle allows the reflective surface of the reflector optic to be reduced in size compared with a conventional reflector in air. The solid-state light emitter is mounted near the light output surface to further reduce the size of the collimated light source. The highly collimated light beams of different colors generated by multiple collimated light sources enable the lighting assembly to use a decussate optical filter having dichroic filter elements to combine the light beams to provide the compact lighting assembly having a configurable output light color.