Evaluation of simulation alternatives for the brute-force ray-tracing approach used in backlight design

Karel Desnijder; Peter Hanselaer; Youri Meuret

doi:10.1117/12.2227655

27 April 2016 Evaluation of simulation alternatives for the brute-force ray-tracing approach used in backlight design

Karel Desnijder, Peter Hanselaer, Youri Meuret

Proceedings Volume 9889, Optical Modelling and Design IV; 98890O (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2227655
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2016, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

A key requirement to obtain a uniform luminance for a side-lit LED backlight is the optimised spatial pattern of structures on the light guide that extract the light. The generation of such a scatter pattern is usually performed by applying an iterative approach. In each iteration, the luminance distribution of the backlight with a particular scatter pattern is analysed. This is typically performed with a brute-force ray-tracing algorithm, although this approach results in a time-consuming optimisation process. In this study, the Adding-Doubling method is explored as an alternative way for evaluating the luminance of a backlight. Due to the similarities between light propagating in a backlight with extraction structures and light scattering in a cloud of light scatterers, the Adding-Doubling method which is used to model the latter could also be used to model the light distribution in a backlight. The backlight problem is translated to a form upon which the Adding-Doubling method is directly applicable. The calculated luminance for a simple uniform extraction pattern with the Adding-Doubling method matches the luminance generated by a commercial raytracer very well. Although successful, no clear computational advantage over ray tracers is realised. However, the dynamics of light propagation in a light guide as used the Adding-Doubling method, also allow to enhance the efficiency of brute-force ray-tracing algorithms. The performance of this enhanced ray-tracing approach for the simulation of backlights is also evaluated against a typical brute-force ray-tracing approach.

Citation Download Citation

Karel Desnijder, Peter Hanselaer, and Youri Meuret "Evaluation of simulation alternatives for the brute-force ray-tracing approach used in backlight design", Proc. SPIE 9889, Optical Modelling and Design IV, 98890O (27 April 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2227655

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KEYWORDS

Waveguides

Light scattering

Scattering

Monte Carlo methods

Reflection

Modeling

Ray tracing

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