Broadband uniform illumination optics for industrial applications

Uniform illumination, including uniform irradiance and color uniformity, is of indispensable importance for numerous imaging and sensing applications. These illumination designs typically comprise one or multiple light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or feature halogen sources, which are preferred for spectroscopy applications. We present an overview of different design strategies enabling a uniform illumination, taking the extended source characteristics into account, while aiming to compare different optical design approaches with respect to cost, efficiency, complexity, scalability and robustness. Four case-studies will be compared: (1) considering geometrical optimization of the source positions, (2) combination of a halogen source array with a biconic aspheric lens array, (3) combination of a multi-chip LED with a biconic lens array and Fresnel lens, and (4) the combination of a multi-chip LED with a Shell-Mixer. A design-for-manufacturing approach is applied for all designs, considering integration and robustness, paving the way towards industrial uniform illumination optics.