Ultra-thin frontlight having an optical coupling element

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide an ultra-thin frontlight comprising an optical coupling element that receives light from a light source and directs the received light into a lightguide which is thinner than the height of the light source. The height of the optical coupling element is approximately the same or greater than that of the light source and the optical coupling element is refractively index matched to the lightguide. The optical coupling element may be composed of the same material as the lightguide. The optical coupling element has several reflecting surfaces, which may be polished, metallized, or have dielectric mirror coatings.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.