Open AccessPrescribed irradiance distributions with freeform gradient-index optics
Author(s) -
David H. Lippman,
Greg Schmidt
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.404456
Subject(s) - irradiance , optics , piecewise , nonimaging optics , geometrical optics , planar , point (geometry) , inverse , distribution (mathematics) , field (mathematics) , computer science , physics , mathematics , geometry , mathematical analysis , computer graphics (images) , pure mathematics
Generating a prescribed irradiance distribution given a source distribution is an inverse problem that sits at the heart of illumination design. The growing prevalence of freeform optics has inspired several design methods for obtaining a prescribed irradiance distribution possessing no symmetry. Up to now, these methods have relied exclusively on freeform optical surfaces for generating freeform irradiances. This paper presents a design method that, for the first time, applies gradient-index (GRIN) optics to solving this inverse problem. Using a piecewise-continuous freeform gradient-index (F-GRIN) profile, a single optic with two planar surfaces can be designed to produce a far-field prescribed irradiance distribution from a point source. The design process is herein presented along with two design examples which demonstrate some of the unique properties of F-GRIN illumination optics.