title: Light-emitting diode illumination design with a condensing sphere.
abstract: An illumination system is described that comprises a glass or plastic sphere, an embedded light-emitting diode (LED) source, and a reflecting or scattering mirror. The rays from the LED are either refracted in the forward direction or totally internally reflected by the sphere. The mirror breaks the total internal reflection and thus sends the rays in the forward direction. The illumination pattern and efficiency of the system are analyzed. This system is extremely compact and efficient and is a good starting point for a complex illumination system design.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, New York 14627, USA. chiw@optics.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Wanli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: George