Device for concentrating or collimating radiant energy

Abstract

This invention consists in a nonimaging device for concentration or collimation of radiation on a receiver or from an emitter ( 14 ), depending on the case. The device is made up of the lens ( 50 ), which surrounds the receiver and consists of the aspheric surface ( 21 ), and the lens ( 15 ), whose upper refractive surface ( 16 ) may be aspheric, while the lower surface is aspheric ( 17 ) in its central portion (between points 18 and 19 ) and has a structure with discontinuous slope ( 20 ) in its external portion, in which the faces ( 22 ) fundamentally refract the rays while the faces ( 23 ) reflect them by total internal reflection. The design method provides that the device properties of concentration/collimation are noticeably superior to those of the existing inventions. Possible applications of this lens include: radiation sensors, illumination systems with LEDs, wireless optical communications and photovoltaic solar energy.

1 . Device for concentrating radiant energy wherein said device is axisymmetrical or cylindrical and is configured to transform the edge rays of an input extended ray bundle into edge rays of an output extended ray bundle that illuminates a receiver, the optical spread of said input and output bundles being greater than ten degrees at one or more of the optical surfaces of said device and said bundles being defined in the plane of a cross-section by: 
 a) a lens L 1  comprising on one side a refractive aspheric surface, S 1 , on which the input bundle impinges, and on the other side, S 2 , another refractive aspheric surface in its central region and a discontinuous-slope structure in its external region, said discontinuous-slope structure cross-section comprising teeth with two aspheric faces such that one of them, V, is configured to be parallel to the flow lines of the bundle transmitted by said surface S 1 , and the other face, T, is configured to reflect the bundle by total internal reflection toward the face V where it is refracted so that no ray intercepts the adjacent tooth and that the nearest edge ray to do so is tangent to that tooth, and    b) A second lens L 2  that surrounds the receiver composed of a refractive aspheric surface on which the bundle transmitted by the lens L 1  impinges.    
   
   
       2 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein said receiver comprises an optoelectronic receiver.  
   
   
       3 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein said receiver is one of a photodiode, a phototransistor or a photovoltaic cell.  
   
   
       4 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein the profiles of the faces of the teeth have at each point a slope modified by an angle of less than 2 degrees.  
   
   
       5 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein the profile of S 1  is circular or flat.  
   
   
       6 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein the surfaces S 1  and S 2  of the lens are interchanged, so that the teeth appear inverted.  
   
   
       7 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein S 1  has a saw-toothed profile that diverts the input bundle to modify the direction of the flow lines.  
   
   
       8 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein S 1  or the refractive surface of the central portion of S 2 , or both, are discontinuous-slope Fresnel structures.  
   
   
       9 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein the lens L 2  comprises two different dielectric materials separated by a spheric or aspheric refractive surface.  
   
   
       10 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  wherein the cross-sections of the teeth of S 2  have faces with circular or rectilinear profiles.  
   
   
       11 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  comprising an optically inactive portion joining the two lenses so that they constitute a single part that includes an interior space.  
   
   
       12 . Device for concentrating radiant energy according to  claim 1  fixed to a dielectric plate.  
   
   
       13 . Device according to  claim 1  wherein at least one of said surfaces S 1 , S 2 , or S 3  comprises a Cartesian oval.  
   
   
       14 . Device for collimating radiant energy wherein said device is axisymmetrical or cylindrical and is configured to transform the edge rays of an input extended ray bundle generated by an emitter into edge rays of an output extended ray bundle, the optical spread of said input and output bundles being greater than ten degrees at one or more of the optical surfaces of said device, both of said bundles being defined in the plane of a cross-section, by: 
 a) a lens L 2  that surrounds the emitter and comprises a refractive aspheric surface S 3  on which the input bundle impinges, and    b) a second lens L 1  comprising on one side a refractive aspheric surface, S 1 , from which the output bundle leaves, and on the other side, S 2 , another refractive aspheric surface in its central region and a discontinuous-slope structure in its external region, said discontinuous-slope structure cross-section comprising teeth with two aspheric faces such that on one of them, V, the bundle transmitted by said surface S 3  is refracted so that all the rays are reflected by total internal reflection on the other face, T, that the edge ray nearest to not being reflected is tangent to the profile of the tooth, and that the face V is parallel to the flow lines of the bundle transmitted toward S 1 .    
   
   
       15 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein said emitter comprises an optoelectronic emitter.  
   
   
       16 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein said emitter is one of an LED, an IRED or a laser.  
   
   
       17 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein the profiles of the faces of the teeth have at each point a slope modified by an angle of less than 2 degrees.  
   
   
       18 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein the profile of S 1  is circular or flat.  
   
   
       19 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein the surfaces S 1  and S 2  of the lens are interchanged, so that the teeth appear inverted.  
   
   
       20 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein S 1  has a saw-toothed profile that diverts the input bundle to modify the direction of the flow lines.  
   
   
       21 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein S 1  or the refractive surface of the central portion of S 2 , or both, are discontinuous-slope Fresnel structures.  
   
   
       22 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein the lens L 2  comprises two different dielectric materials separated by a spheric or aspheric refractive surface.  
   
   
       23 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  wherein the cross-sections of the teeth of S 2  have faces with circular or rectilinear profiles.  
   
   
       24 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  comprising an optically inactive portion joining the two lenses so that they constitute a single part that includes an interior space.  
   
   
       25 . Device for collimating radiant energy according to  claim 14  fixed to a dielectric plate.  
   
   
       26 . Device according to  claim 14  wherein at least one of said surfaces S 1 , S 2 , or S 3  comprises a Cartesian oval.  
   
   
       27 . Device for collimating radiant energy, said device being axisymmetrical or cylindrical and configured to transform the edge rays of an input extended ray bundle generated by an emitter into edge rays of an output extended ray bundle, both bundles being defined in the plane of a cross-section, excluding the axisymmetric case in which the bundles of rays are chosen to provide uniform irradiance in three dimensions at the exit aperture when the angular spread of the ray bundles on passing through all of the optical surfaces is smaller than 10°, by: 
 a) a lens L 2  that surrounds the emitter comprising a refractive aspheric surface S 3  on which the input bundle impinges, and    b) a second lens L 1  comprising on one side a refractive aspheric surface, S 1 , from which the output bundle leaves, and on the other side, S 2 , another refractive aspheric surface in its central region and a discontinuous-slope structure in its external region, whose cross-section is formed of teeth with two aspheric faces such that on one of them, V, the bundle transmitted by surface S 3  is refracted so that all the rays are reflected by total internal reflection on the other face, T, that the edge ray nearest to not being reflected is tangent to the profile of the tooth, and that the face V is parallel to the flow lines of the bundle transmitted toward S 1 .    
   
   
       28 . Device according to  claim 27  wherein at least one of said surfaces S 1 , S 2 , or S 3  comprises a Cartesian oval.  
   
   
       29 . Device for concentrating radiant energy wherein said device is axisymmetrical or cylindrical and is configured to transform the edge rays of an input extended ray bundle into edge rays of an output extended ray bundle that illuminates a receiver, the optical spread of at least one of said input and output bundles being greater than ten degrees at one or more of the optical surfaces of said device and said bundles being defined in the plane of a cross-section by: 
 a) a lens L 1  comprising on one side a refractive aspheric surface, S 1 , on which the input bundle impinges, and on the other side, S 2 , another refractive aspheric surface in its central region and a discontinuous-slope structure in its external region, said discontinuous-slope structure cross-section comprising teeth with two aspheric faces such that one of them, V, is configured to be parallel to the flow lines of the bundle transmitted by said surface S 1 , and the other face, T, is configured to reflect the bundle by total internal reflection toward the face V where it is refracted so that no ray intercepts the adjacent tooth and that the nearest edge ray to do so is tangent to that tooth, and    b) A second lens L 2  that surrounds the receiver composed of a refractive aspheric surface on which the bundle transmitted by the lens L 1  impinges.    
   
   
       30 . Device for collimating radiant energy wherein said device is axisymmetrical or cylindrical and is configured to transform the edge rays of an input extended ray bundle generated by an emitter into edge rays of an output extended ray bundle, the optical spread of at least one of said input and output bundles being greater than ten degrees at one or more of the optical surfaces of said device, both of said bundles being defined in the plane of a cross-section, by: 
 a) a lens L 2  that surrounds the emitter and comprises a refractive aspheric surface S 3  on which the input bundle impinges, and    b) a second lens L 1  comprising on one side a refractive aspheric surface, S 1 , from which the output bundle leaves, and on the other side, S 2 , another refractive aspheric surface in its central region and a discontinuous-slope structure in its external region, said discontinuous-slope structure cross-section comprising teeth with two aspheric faces such that on one of them, V, the bundle transmitted by said surface S 3  is refracted so that all the rays are reflected by total internal reflection on the other face, T, that the edge ray nearest to not being reflected is tangent to the profile of the tooth, and that the face V is parallel to the flow lines of the bundle transmitted toward S 1 .