Analysis of LED arrangement in an array with respect to lens geometry

Highly adaptive light sources such as LED arrays have been surpassing conventional light sources (halogen, xenon) for automotive applications. Individual LED arrangements within the array, high durability and low energy consumption of the LEDs are some of the reasons. With the introduction of Audi's Matrix beam system, efforts to increase the quantity of pixels were already underway and the stage was practically set for pixel light systems. Current efforts are focused towards the exploration of an optimal LED array density and the use of spatial light modulators. In both cases, one question remains - What arrangement of LEDs is the most suitable in terms of light output efficiency for a given lens geometry? The radiation characteristics of an LED usually shows a Lambertian pattern. Following from the definition of luminous efficacy, this characteristic property of LEDs has a decisive impact on the lens geometry in a given array. Due to the proportional correlation between the lens diameter and the distance of LEDs emission surface to the lens surface. Assuming a constant viewing angle an increase of the distance leads to an increase of the lens diameter. In this paper, two different approaches for an optimized LED array with regards to the LED arrangement will be presented. The introduced designs result from one imaging and one non-imaging optical system, which will be investigated. The paper is concluded with a comparative analysis of the LED array design as a function of the LED pitch and the luminous efficacy.