This will create a multitude of randomly oriented critical angles relative to the internally reflected rays, increasing the amount of light that will “escape” diffusely from the light pipe. To do this, you want to minimize the amount of internally reflected light at the tip of the light pipe.This can be achieved by selectively smoothing the exit surface. Naturally, you’ll want to deliver as much light as possible into the air at the end of the light pipe. This is because you want to maximize the total internal reflection of the light along its path, allowing as little light loss through the medium as possible along its trajectory. Next, you’ll want to make sure that the “pipe” section of your light pipe is as reflective as possible. One method for accomplishing this task with minimal cost is to enclose your source in the light pipe structure so that as much of the light leaving the source as possible is ‘captured’ by the light pipe.Ī stronger, less practical method is to focus the source-emitted light into the light pipe structure using a lens. To do this, first, make sure you’re capturing as much of the source light as possible in your application. In other words, you want to minimize the light loss that will occur between your source and the viewer. When designing a system that utilizes light pipes, your goal typically will be to use light provided by your source - in this case, an LED - as efficiently as possible. Since the plastic we’re using in our light pipes has a higher optical density than air, we can expect some total internal reflection to occur and for our light pipes to work! 3D Printed Light Pipes Design Considerations In our example, we’ll demonstrate 3D printed plastic light pipes in air. Note that total internal reflection occurs when the light travels from a medium with a higher optical density to a medium with a respectively lower optical density. As total internal reflection occurs along the trajectory of light through a light pipe, light can be moved from the source of photons to the desired target, where it is finally refracted out and used in your application. So, as it exits the glass, it refracts in a direction theoretically parallel to the boundary surface.įor an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle, total internal reflection occurs within the glass as the light would reflect against the internal surface of the medium. The critical angle is defined as the angle of incidence at which a ray of light yields a 90-degree angle of refraction at the boundary of the glass and the air. As the name suggests, light pipes rely on carrying internally reflected rays of light from an entrance point to an exit point through an optically transparent medium.įor a simple understanding of what’s happening during total internal reflection, consider light traveling through two different substances - say, from glass to air. The key optical phenomenon at work in a light pipe application is total internal reflection, the amount of incident light between the boundary of two media that is reflected.
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