Tailored edge-ray designs for uniform illumination of distant targets

Abstract

New classes of nonimaging reflector designs, referred to as tailored edge-ray designs (TEDs), were recently developed as basic solutions for the problem of designing a reflector that achieves a specified distribution of radiation on the target. These designs yield exact solutions, even when the source is extended, i.e., not small compared to the reflector size. A systematic exploration of these designs for the practical and challenging problem of producing uniform far-field irradiance for linear (2-D) configurations is presented. We establish the inherent, fundamental limitations on the dimensional and flux-map characteristics of these TEDs. We develop designs that are a significant improvement over conventional approaches in meeting the practical design goals commonly set by luminaire manufacturers. We also derive analytic simplifications in the relevant formulas that can save considerable time in design calculations.