Tailoring the light distribution of micro-LED displays with a compact compound parabolic concentrator and an engineered diffusor

We propose a novel optical design to tailor the angular distribution of a micro-LED (mu LED) display system and use vehicle display as an example to illustrate the design principles. The display system consists of a mu LED array with a tailored LED structure, a small formfactor compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) system, and a functional engineered diffusor. It provides high efficiency, high peak brightness, and small formfactor. In the design process, a mix-level optical simulation model, including the angular distribution of polarized emission dipole (dipole emission characteristics), Fabry-Perot cavity effect (wave optics), and light propagation process (ray optics), is established to analyze the angular distribution of mu LEDs. Such an optical design process from dipole emission to display radiation pattern can be extended to other mu LED display systems for different applications. (C) 2021 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement