Welcome to this presentation on Optical Calculations for SSL Applications by

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

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A basic understanding of the underlying optical principals is important. The
important principals for solid state lighting applications are reflection,
refraction, and total internal reflection. These are the basis for all the
calculations that follow.
Consider a light ray striking a mirrored surface. The angle of the light ray
with respect to the surface normal is theta I and is called the “angle of
incidence”. The Law of Reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal
to the angle of reflection. This also the definition of a “specular” reflection.
For a surface with some roughness, some of the light will reflect in the
specular direction and some will be reflected in other directions. This can be
called “semi-specular” or “semi-diffuse” reflection. A “diffuse” reflection
sends light in all directions.
directions

It should be noted that transmission works in a similar fashion.

Refraction takes place when light passes from one media or material to
another, for example, from air to plastic. Light bends towards or away from
the surface normal depending on the indicies of refraction of the materials
and the angle of incidence. The equation which describes the relationship
between the angle of incidence and the angle of transmission is known as
“Snell’s Law”. In general, light bends toward the normal when going from a
low index to high index, such as air to plastic. Light bends away from the
normal when going from high to low index
index, for example plastic to air
air.
An important consideration when light strikes an interface between different
materials is Fresnel loss. When light is going from air to plastic or vice-
versa, for example, part of the light is transmitted and part is reflected, even
at normal incidence. The percentages of transmitted and reflected light
depend primarily upon the angle of incidence and index of refraction. The
polarization state can also be important, but for general lighting an average
polarization is assumed when making calculations.
Here is a graph showing the percentages of transmitted and reflected light
through an acrylic sheet surrounded by air. As you can see, significant
transmission losses occur at angles of 60 degrees and beyond. Fresnel
losses can significantly impact optical system efficiency if not considered.
A special case of refraction is called total internal reflection, or TIR. This
occurs when light is traveling from a high index material to a low index
material. Referring to the figure on the left, as the angle of incidence
increases from 1 to 2 to 3, the angle of transmission also increases. When
the angle of incidence reaches the so-called “critical angle”, illustrated by ray
4, the light remains confined in the high index material. Beyond this angle,
light reflects off the high index-low index boundary according to the Law of
Reflection.
Reflection
Radiometric power is converted to luminous flux via the integral equation. V-
lambda is the spectral response of the human eye in daylight, otherwise
known as the photopic curve. The unit of luminous flux is the lumen.
This slide shows graphically the radiometric spectral power distribution
multiplied by the photopic curve V-lambda P sub e. By taking the area under
the resulting P sub v curve and multiplying by the constant K, the luminous
flux in lumens is calculated.
Solid angle is the 3 dimensional analog of an ordinary angle. In the figure,
the edge of a circular disk is projected to the center of a sphere. The
projection intersects the sphere and forms a surface area A. Solid angle is
the area A on the surface of a sphere of radius R divided by the radius
squared. The units of solid angle are steradians. Note that it is a
dimensionless quantity.

Solid angle is defined as the area A on a sphere of radius R subtended by a

portion of the surface whose area is equal to the square of the sphere’s
radius.
The most common photometric quantities are shown in the table. We have
already discussed luminous flux. Luminous intensity, or just Intensity, is
“light in a direction.” The units of intensity are lumens per solid angle, or
steradians. Note that intensity does not depend on measurement distance.
The next quantity, Illuminance, is “light falling on a surface,” with units of
lumens per area. Finally, Luminance is “light from a surface in a direction.”
The units are lumens per area per solid angle; it is the perceived brightness.
A Lambertian source is defined as one in which the brightness (or
luminance) is independent of angle – in other words, the off-axis luminance
is the same as on-axis. Such a source has an intensity vs. angle profile that
falls off as the cosine of the angle. Historically, many LED sources have had
nearly Lambertian beam distributions, simplifiying certain calculations.
For SSL applications, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has developed several
LEDs with non-Lambertian distributions. These distributions have been
designed to suit specific applications.
In order to calculate the lumens required for an application (and hence, the
number of LEDs), optical loss factors must be included. This table shows
some rule-of-thumb efficiencies for various optical elements.
(Refl)
To compute a loss factor for a reflector, remember that the reflectivity only
affects light which actually strikes the reflector.
(TIR)
The transmission for TIR lenses includes collection efficiency and Fresnel
losses. A value of 85% is a good first estimate.
(Cover)
Standard refractive lenses and lens covers have similar transmission values.
Remember to consider additional Fresnel losses for high angle light.
(Diffusers)
Finally, some applications add a diffuser to increase the uniformity of the lit
appearance or the beam pattern. Transmission can vary greatly depending
upon the optical method used.
Now we are ready to look at a case study. This particular project involved
retrofitting an existing streetlight with LEDs. There were a number of project
goals which helped define the number of LEDs and the optical system. The
main optical losses were due to the optics, the cover lens, and light blocked
by mechanical structures. In this case, we wanted to estimate the number of
lumens out of the luminaire.
These pictures show how the LEDs and optics were configured inside the
fixture. Off-the-shelf optics were used over each LED, and the optical
efficiency was reported by the vendor. Losses for blocked light due to the
cap and the pole were estimated to be 10%. One important non-optical loss
factor for any LED application is thermal loss. As the LED heats up, its light
output drops. The thermal loss depends on the LED junction temperature.
which in turn depends on the ambient temperature
We start with the lumens specified on the datasheet for a single LED, in this
case 112, and then multiply that number by the loss factors and number of
LEDs for a total of about 4300. The prototype luminaire measured 4400
lumens, so our back-of-the-envelope calculations were very close.
For our second case study, we consider an LED downlight. Suppose we are
given a maximum center beam candlepower value. What is the illuminance,
in foot-candles, at different mounting heights? To solve this, we use the
inverse square law, which states that the illuminance is equal to intensity
divided by the square of the distance.
Using a center beam candlepower of 1000 cd, the table shows illuminance
for different mounting heights. Note that these illuminance values are at the
center of the beam.
Let’s look at another calculation. Suppose you want to calculate the number
of LEDs required in a downlight given certain illuminance and beam pattern
targets, as well as the mounting height. Assume the system will use
secondary optics and a cover lens. How do you make the calculation?
The governing equation is shown here, where E is the average illuminance
over the area A, and phi is lumens. Given a desired beam angle and
mounting height, an estimate of average illuminance can be derived. In the
table, a value of 505 lumens has been calculated to meet the illuminance
target. Optical losses are assumed for the secondary optics and the cover
lens, and a thermal loss is also assigned. Applying these losses yields the
required source lumens of 743. By dividing this number by the LED lumens,
the number of LEDs is calculated
calculated.
Thank you for viewing this presentation by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

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