Elliptical concentrators

Optical elements from 3D printed polymers

3D printing belongs to the emerging technologies of our time. Describing diverse specific techniques, 3D printing enables rapid production of individual objects and creating shapes that would not be produced with other techniques. One of the drawbacks of typical 3D printing processes, however, is the layered structure of the created parts. This is especially problematic in the production of optical elements, which in most cases necessitate highly even surfaces. To meet this challenge, advanced 3D printing techniques as well as other sophisticated solutions can be applied. Here, we give an overview of 3D printed optical elements, such as lenses, mirrors, and waveguides, with a focus on freeform optics and other elements for which 3D printing is especially well suited.

Free-form surface design method for a collimator TIR lens

A free-form (FF) surface design method is proposed for a general axial-symmetrical collimator system consisting of a light source and a total internal reflection lens with two coupled FF boundary surfaces. The profiles of the boundary surfaces are designed using a FF surface construction method such that each incident ray is directed (refracted and reflected) in such a way as to form a specified image pattern on the target plane. The light ray paths within the system are analyzed using an exact analytical model and a skew-ray tracing approach. In addition, the validity of the proposed FF design method is demonstrated by means of ZEMAX simulations. It is shown that the illumination distribution formed on the target plane is in good agreement with that specified by the user. The proposed surface construction method is mathematically straightforward and easily implemented in computer code. As such, it provides a useful tool for the design and analysis of general axial-symmetrical optical systems.

Nonimaging optical concentrators using graded-index dielectric

A new generation of inhomogeneous nonimaging optical concentrators is proposed, able to achieve simultaneously high optical efficiency and acceptance solid angle at a given geometrical concentration factor. General design methods are given, and concentrators are numerically investigated and optimized.

Hyperparabolic concentrators

We present a family of three-dimensional concentrators constructed from the photic field generated by a Lambertian emitter. The profile of these concentrators is obtained from the field lines for a two-dimensional truncated wedge and is based on the union between a hyperbola and a tilted parabola. By revolution of this profile, we obtain hyperparabolic concentrators (HPCs). In the limiting case when the focal length of the hyperbola becomes the radius of the exit aperture, the HPC becomes the well-known compound parabolic concentrator. On the other hand, when the focal length of the hyperbola becomes infinite, the HPC achieves the thermodynamic limit of concentration.