Improvements of mesopic luminance for light-emitting-diode-based outdoor light sources via tuning scotopic/photopic ratios

Outdoor light sources must guarantee excellent mesopic luminance (Lmes) for traffic safety at night. Here, we propose a solution to improve mesopic-related parameters, which include especially the scotopic/photopic ratio and the Lmes, of multi-chip light-emitting diode (LED) light sources. Generally, these sources are driven by pulse-width-modulation currents, and possess readily-controlled spectral power distributions (SPDs). An updated version of the optical power ratio algorithm developed in this article can select suitable overall SPDs and yield corresponding duty cycles to drive individual chips at different correlated-color temperatures and operating temperatures. Its accuracy and practicality are proven by experimental results. In addition, our study introduces a temperature-feedback technique that can instantly adjust duty cycles for each chip according to real-time operating temperatures in order to avoid undesirable color drifts at different operating temperatures. It can also be regarded as a model for practitioners who desire to improve the quality of outdoor light sources.