We propose a freeform reflector design method based on the mapping of equi-flux grids between a point source and a target. This method imposes no restriction on the target distribution, the reflector collection angle or the source intensity pattern. Source-target maps are generated from a small number of target points using the Oliker algorithm. Such maps satisfy the surface integrability condition and can thus be used to quickly generate reflectors that produce continuous illuminance distributions.

Standard nonimaging components used to collect and integrate light in light-emitting-diode-based projector light engines such as tapered rods and compound parabolic concentrators are compared to optimized freeform shapes in terms of transmission efficiency and spatial uniformity. We show that the simultaneous optimization of the output surface and the profile shape yields transmission efficiency within the étendue limit up to 90% and spatial uniformity higher than 95%, even for compact sizes. The optimization process involves a manual study of the trends for different shapes and the use of an optimization algorithm to further improve the performance of the freeform lightpipe.

The low luminance levels of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) compared to arc lamps make it difficult to design high-brightness LED-based projectors. Besides, the specificities of LEDs do not always allow using the same design schemes as with arc lamp-based projection displays. This paper performs a taxonomy of the techniques that can be used to increase the brightness of LED-based projection displays. We show that, in étendue-limited systems, the perceived brightness depends on the system étendue limit, the efficiency of the light engine, and the source luminance. The ability to improve each of these parameters depends on the design constraints. The system étendue limit can be increased at the expense of bulkier, more complex, and more expensive designs. The light engine efficiency can be increased by using free-form shape components adapted to the shapes and the emission patterns of the considered LEDs. The apparent source luminance can be increased at the expense of the flux by either recycling light or restricting the light collection to a smaller étendue with higher average luminance. Luminance can also be increased by using multiple color primaries (spatial multiplexing) or pulsed LEDs (temporal multiplexing). Finally, we review how light recycling can be implemented to convert polarization without increasing étendue.

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