Light concentrator or distributor
AssigneeSchott AG
InventorsEdgar Pawlowski, Wolfram Beier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A light concentrator or distributor is provided, which includes a plurality of light conducting cells that are lined up in a transparent light conducting body. The light conducting cells are defined by boundary faces, which are produced within the light conducting body using laser radiation.
Claims23
A light concentrator or distributor for focusing light onto a plurality of light receiving elements or for spreading and collimating light from small area light sources, comprising:
- a transparent light conducting body of a transparent dielectric material, the light conducting body having a plurality of light conducting cells in an interior of the light conducting body, the plurality of light conducting cells having a shape selected from the group consisting of truncated pyramids, truncated cones, truncated paraboloids, and conical honeycombs, each shape having a major base, a minor base, and lateral surfaces that are formed as inner boundary faces within the light conducting body;
- wherein the inner boundary faces are capable of directing light incident to each of the light conducting cells onto one of the major and minor bases of the respective light conducting cell by diffraction, reflection, or total reflection;
- and
- wherein the inner boundary faces of the respective light conducting cell are defined by one of refraction index jumps in the light conducting body, dot-shaped structuring elements within the transparent dielectric material of the light conducting body, and nanocrack-like structuring elements within the transparent dielectric material of the light conducting body.
A method for producing a light concentrators or distributors in the form of transparent light conducting bodies, comprising the steps of:
- providing a transparent dielectric body as a workpiece having an outer shape of the light conducting body to be produced;
- producing channels in the dielectric body along lateral surfaces of a shape selected from the group consisting of truncated pyramids, truncated cones, truncated paraboloids, and conical honeycombs by using preparatory supportive laser irradiation to define inner boundary faces of light conducting cells;
- and
- subsequently etching the dielectric body along the laser-irradiated inner boundary faces.
A method for producing light concentrators or distributors in the form of transparent light conducting bodies comprising a plurality of light conducting cells that are delimited by inner boundary faces which form lateral surfaces of a shape selected from the group consisting of truncated pyramids, truncated cones, truncated paraboloids, an conical honeycombs, comprising the steps of:
- providing a transparent dielectric body as a workpiece having the outer shape of the light concentrator or distributor;
- focusing laser radiation onto a dot position to be written of a lateral surface of the light conducting cell to be produced and creating a structuring element at the dot position;
- adjusting the workpiece relative to the focused laser radiation to another dot position to be written of the lateral surface of the light conducting cell being produced;
- repeating steps the focusing and adjusting steps for ever new dot positions to be written of the light conducting cell being produced until it is completed;
- focusing laser radiation onto a dot position to be written of a lateral surface of a further light conducting cell and creating a structural element at the dot position;
- and
- adjusting the workpiece relative to the focused laser radiation to another dot position to be written of the lateral surface of the further light conducting cell being produced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.