Bar collimator, backlight system and method

A backlight system, comprising:

• a light source configured to provide light;
• a light guide configured to guide light received from the light source as guided light, the light guide being disposed proximal the light source;
• a diffraction grating configured to diffractively couple out a portion of the guided light from the light guide as collimated light;
• and
• a backlight adjacent to the light guide, the backlight being configured to receive the collimated light from the diffraction grating,
• wherein the diffraction grating is disposed along a side of the light guide and the light source is adjacent to an end of the light guide.

A method of collimating light to provide backlight illumination, the method comprising:

• receiving light from a first light source using a light guide;
• guiding the received light in a direction away from the first light source along a length of the light guide as guided light;
• and
• diffractively coupling out a portion of the guided light as collimated light using a diffraction grating,
• wherein the diffraction grating is disposed along a side of the light guide and the first light source is adjacent to an end of the light guide, and wherein the collimated light has an extent corresponding to a length of a backlight input of a backlight configured to receive the collimated light.