Method of making a small inlet optical panel

A method of making an optical panel, comprising:

• individually coating a plurality of sheets in a substance having an index of refraction lower than that of the sheets;
• stacking the plurality of coated sheets, wherein each coated sheet is fastened to an adjoining coated sheet using an adhesive;
• applying pressure to the stack;
• curing the adhesive;
• cutting the stack to form an outlet face body having a first wedge shape with an outlet face thereon;
• repeating said individually coating, said stacking, said applying, and said curing to form a second stack;
• cutting the second stack to form an inlet face body having a second wedge shape with an inlet face thereon, the inlet face being smaller in surface area than the outlet face in each of two dimensions;
• and
• joining together the inlet face body and the outlet face body at a light redirection element, wherein the outlet face is disposed askew from the inlet face, for redirecting light incident into the inlet face body to a direction incident into the outlet face body;
• wherein the outlet face body is a triangular wedge between the outlet face and a back of the outlet face body, and wherein the triangular wedge increases in thickness from a top of the outlet face body to said light redirection element.

A method of making an optical panel, comprising:

• individually coating a plurality of sheets in a substance having an index of refraction lower than that of the sheets;
• stacking the plurality of coated sheets, wherein each coated sheet is fastened to an adjoining coated sheet using an adhesive;
• applying pressure to the stack;
• curing the adhesive;
• cutting the stack to form an outlet face body having a first wedge shape with an outlet face thereon;
• repeating said individually coating, said stacking, said applying, and said curing to form a second stack;
• cutting the second stack to form an inlet face body having a second wedge shape with an inlet face thereon, the inlet face being smaller in surface area than the outlet face in each of two dimensions;
• and
• joining together the inlet face body and the outlet face body at a light redirection element, wherein the outlet face is disposed askew from the inlet face, for redirecting light incident into the inlet face body to a direction incident into the outlet face body;
• wherein the optical panel comprises two triangular wedges, one of said triangular wedges is the outlet face body which increases in thickness from a top to a bottom of the outlet face body, and the other triangular wedge is the inlet face body which increases in thickness from the light redirection element to the inlet face an end of the inlet face body opposite the inlet face, to the inlet face.