Abstract: A display device arranged to generate a light field to illuminate a human eye. The light field comprising a plurality of pencils that virtually intersect a first reference surface and a second reference surface, said first reference surface being the plane passing through the eye ball sphere center and is perpendicular to the skull frontward direction, and said second reference surface located at a distance from the user's skull and being a portion of a sphere centered the eye hall sphere center. The center of said second reference surface defined as the intersection point of the line passing through the eye ball sphere center and pointing in the skull's frontwards direction. Each pencil is a set of straight lines, segments of said lines coincident with light ray trajectories illuminating the eye having approximately equal luminance and color at any time.

Abstract: A display device including a display panel to generate a real image, and an optical system. The optical system includes a plurality of lenslets, each having one cluster of object pixels, where the assignation of object pixels to clusters may change periodically in time intervals. The cluster emits light towards its corresponding lenslet and the emission is such that no light is sent to neighbor lenslets to avoid cross-talk between channels. Each channel projects a partial virtual image into the eye. The combination of all partial virtual images creates a virtual image. In a preferred embodiment, the partial images of neighbor channels are interlaced, which allows for a higher resolution. Additionally, each channel may be devoted to a single color, avoiding color filters and allowing for a higher efficiency.

Abstract: A luminaire includes a mixing chamber having an array of apertures in one wall, a light source to supply light into the mixing chamber, and an array of optics outside the mixing chamber, each positioned to cooperate with a respective one of the apertures to emit light from the mixing chamber as a beam. The shape, size, and/or direction of the output light beam are controllably varied by controlling the shape, size, and/or position of each aperture relative to its associated optic.

Abstract: An etendue squeezing optic includes light guiding elements that are extruded sideways to guide light to a wide outlet surface for efficient injection into an edge face of a flat light guide such as a backlight panel for a visual display, in combination with a light source optically coupled to the light inlet through an air-gap, so that light entering the optic through the air-gap is confined to a cone of directions determined by a critical angle of refraction into the optic from air at the air-gap.

Abstract: A shell integrator has a hollow transparent body with inner and outer surfaces formed as arrays of lenslets. Each lenslet of the inner surface images a common source region in the middle of the hollow body onto a respective lenslet of the outer surface. Each lenslet of the outer surface forms a virtual image of the respective lenslet of the inner surface at the common source region. One integrator has a light-guide following the surface of the hollow body from an inlet end at a central region of the surface to an outlet end at a rim of the hollow body. The light-guide inlet end is shaped to receive light from the common source region and direct such light along the light-guide. Another integrator is generally elongated, and may be semicylindrical. Any of these integrators may have a stepped surface forming a Fresnel lens.

Abstract: A luminaire includes a mixing chamber having an array of apertures in one wall, a light source to supply light into the mixing chamber, and an array of optics outside the mixing chamber, each positioned to cooperate with a respective one of the apertures to emit light from the mixing chamber as a beam. The shape, size, and/or direction of the output light beam are controllably varied by controlling the shape, size, and/or position of each aperture relative to its associated optic.

Abstract: One example of a solar voltaic concentrator has a primary Fresnel lens with multiple panels, each of which forms a Kohler integrator with a respective panel of a lenticular secondary lens. The resulting plurality of integrators all concentrate sunlight onto a common multi-junction photovoltaic cell. The integrators provide matching illumination in the different wavebands required by the different junctions. Luminaires using a similar geometry are also possible.

Abstract: A folded circularly symmetric illumination optic comprising a first light transfer mode having a first central refractive surface and a second central refractive surface, wherein one of the first and second central refractive surfaces has at least one peened feature; a second light transfer mode having a first refractive surface, a first TIR surface, a second TIR surface and a second refractive surface; a third light transfer mode having a first refractive surface, a first TIR surface and a second refractive surface, wherein the first TIR surface has at least one peening feature, and wherein the second refractive surface is conical; wherein the first TIR surface and second refractive surface of the second light transfer mode is coincident at least one point, wherein the second refractive surface of the third light transfer mode is coincident with the first TIR surface and second refractive surface of the second light transfer mode.

Abstract: One optical system comprises a first optical surface, a faceted second optical surface, and a faceted third optical surface. The optical system is operative to convert a first bundle of rays that is continuous in phase space outside the first optical surface into a second bundle of rays that is continuous in phase space outside the third optical surface. Between the second and third optical surfaces the rays making up the first and second bundles form discrete sub-bundles each passing from a facet of the second optical surface to a facet of the third optical surface. The sub-bundles do not form a continuous bundle in a phase space that has dimensions representing the position and angle at which rays cross a surface transverse to the bundle of rays.

Abstract: A folded circularly symmetric illumination optic comprising a first light transfer mode having a first central refractive surface and a second central refractive surface, wherein one of the first and second central refractive surfaces has at least one peened feature; a second light transfer mode having a first refractive surface, a first TIR surface, a second TIR surface and a second refractive surface; a third light transfer mode having a first refractive surface, a first TIR surface and a second refractive surface, wherein the first TIR surface has at least one peening feature, and wherein the second refractive surface is conical; wherein the first TIR surface and second refractive surface of the second light transfer mode is coincident at least one point, wherein the second refractive surface of the third light transfer mode is coincident with the first TIR surface and second refractive surface of the second light transfer mode.

Abstract: A tubular luminaire efficiently utilizes the light of a line of high-brightness unlensed LEDs to reproduce the homogeneous appearance of a neon tube. The transparent tube has an annular cross-section suitable for cost-effective manufacturing by extrusion. The LEDs are mounted in a line on a circuit board that can be positioned either inside or outside the tube. Their light shines into a cylindrical groove, thereby entering within the material of the tube. Above the groove, the wall of the tube has a spiral shape that reflects the light laterally so that it stays within the annular tube for a considerable path length. Volume scattering by a low density of scattering inclusions causes the light to escape as a homogenous glow. Alternatively, mild surface scattering from the inside surface can be used.

Abstract: A zoomable luminaire has a source of light, a primary reflector with entry and exit apertures, and at least one secondary reflector with entry and exit apertures. The source delivers light into the entry aperture of the primary reflector, and the primary reflector delivers the light at the exit aperture of the primary reflector. The luminaire has a retracted position for producing a beam of a first beam angle, where the primary reflector is nested within the secondary reflector and the secondary reflector does not substantially affect the distribution of the light. The luminaire has at least one extended position for producing a beam of a second width, where the exit aperture of the primary reflector is contiguous with the entry aperture of a secondary reflector so that the light is delivered at the exit aperture of a secondary reflector.

Abstract: One optical system comprises a first optical surface, a faceted second optical surface, and a faceted third optical surface. The optical system is operative to convert a first bundle of rays that is continuous in phase space outside the first optical surface into a second bundle of rays that is continuous in phase space outside the third optical surface. Between the second and third optical surfaces the rays making up the first and second bundles form discrete sub-bundles each passing from a facet of the second optical surface to a facet of the third optical surface. The sub-bundles do not form a continuous bundle in a phase space that has dimensions representing the position and angle at which rays cross a surface transverse to the bundle of rays.

Abstract: An optoelectrical device, which may be a luminaire or a photovoltaic concentrator, has a transparent cover plate. A target with an optoelectrical transducer that produces waste heat in operation is mounted at an inside face of the transparent cover plate. A primary mirror reflects light between being concentrated on the target and passing generally collimated through the cover plate. A heat spreader is in thermal contact with the target. The heat spreader has heat conductors that thermally connect the target with the inside surface of the cover plate. The heat conductors may be arms extending radially outwards, and may be straight, zigzag, or branching. An array of targets may be mounted on a common cover plate, and their heat spreaders may be continuous from target to target.

Abstract: The diffuse reflectivity of an LED source is utilized to recycle some of its emission, thereby enabling a luminaire to escape the étendue limit. Retroreflectors intercept the rays destined for the outer part of the luminaire aperture, which can then be truncated. The resulting smaller aperture has the same beam-width as the full original, albeit with lesser flux due to recycling losses. A reduction to half the original area is possible.

Abstract: A tubular luminaire efficiently utilizes the light of a line of high-brightness unlensed LEDs to reproduce the homogeneous appearance of a neon tube. The transparent tube has an annular cross-section suitable for cost-effective manufacturing by extrusion. The LEDs are mounted in a line on a circuit board that can be positioned either inside or outside the tube. Their light shines into a cylindrical groove, thereby entering within the material of the tube. Above the groove, the wall of the tube has a spiral shape that reflects the light laterally so that it stays within the annular tube for a considerable path length. Volume scattering by a low density of scattering inclusions causes the light to escape as a homogenous glow. Alternatively, mild surface scattering from the inside surface can be used.

Abstract: An optical manifold for efficiently combining a plurality of blue LED outputs to illuminate a phosphor for a single, substantially homogeneous output, in a small, cost-effective package. Embodiments are disclosed that use a single or multiple LEDs and a remote phosphor, and an intermediate wavelength-selective filter arranged so that backscattered photoluminescence is recycled to boost the luminance and flux of the output aperture. A further aperture mask is used to boost phosphor luminance with only modest loss of luminosity. Alternative non-recycling embodiments provide blue and yellow light in collimated beams, either separately or combined into white.

Abstract: A zoomable luminaire has a source of light, a primary reflector with entry and exit apertures, and at least one secondary reflector with entry and exit apertures. The source delivers light into the entry aperture of the primary reflector, and the primary reflector delivers the light at the exit aperture of the primary reflector. The luminaire has a retracted position for producing a beam of a first beam angle, where the primary reflector is nested within the secondary reflector and the secondary reflector does not substantially affect the distribution of the light. The luminaire has at least one extended position for producing a beam of a second width, where the exit aperture of the primary reflector is contiguous with the entry aperture of a secondary reflector so that the light is delivered at the exit aperture of a secondary reflector.

Abstract: An embodiment of an optical manifold has first and second collimators, each arranged to receive light from a source and transmit the light to an exit port of the collimator, and a separator arranged to emit some of the light from the exit ports of the first and second collimators and to recycle some of the light into the collimators. Another embodiment has at least three collimators of substantially equal length and having central axes, respective light sources at entry ports of the collimators, the collimators being arranged with their central axes parallel and with their light sources in a common plane and reflectors positioned to direct light from exit ports of the collimators to a selectively reflective component that guides all the light into a common exit beam.

Abstract: Optical systems are described that have at least one source of a beam of blue light with divergence under 15°. A phosphor emits yellow light when excited by the blue light. A collimator is disposed with the phosphor and forms a yellow beam with divergence under 15°. A dichroic filter is positioned to transmit the beam of blue light to the phosphor and to reflect the beam of yellow light to an exit aperture. In different embodiments, the beams of blue and yellow light are incident upon said filter with central angles of 15°, 22°, and 45°. The filter may reflect all of one polarization and part of the other polarization, and a polarization rotating retroreflector may then be provided to return the unreflected light to the filter.