TIR Optics for Non-Rotationally Symmetric Illumination Design

High-Power-LEDs have reached a development stage that affords their reasonable application to general illumination. Nonimaging total internal reflection optics (TIR optics) that generate non-rotationally symmetric light distributions are proper components to preserve the advantages associated with this type of light source. Thus, high efficiency has to be reconciled, e.g., with the use of freeform surfaces. This contribution investigates the development of TIR optics for LED-based illumination applications. First, we consider rotationally symmetric TIR optics in order to illustrate their functional principle and demonstrate some special design criteria. Second, we apply them to non-rotationally cases using the tailoring technique. Finally, we illustrate various aspects of the design process with selected examples.