Depending on the design of the collimator, the rays of light are formed into a parallel beam via total reflection at the edge surfaces or even in combination with a middle lens section. The advantage of collimators, which function solely by total internal reflection, lies in their high efficiency. In terms of production engineering, the normal injection-molding process is faced with the challenge of having to ensure that component thicknesses are as uniform as possible. This is to avoid what are known as sink marks, which occur as the component cools down, and could otherwise impair the guidance of the rays from the LED.
In contrast to normally- used collimators, therefore, the middle lens section in this case is replaced by a Fresnel lens of reduced component thickness in order to simplify the injection molding process.
However, the very narrow-beam light distribution of LEDs presents a particular challenge. According to the law of conservation of geometrical optics, a relatively large emission surface is required for the very small luminous surface of the LED chips.
To enable a normal injection molding process to be used for this collimator too, a special variant has been developed that uses double total internal reflection to allow a relatively uniform component thickness . This principle also enables a more efficient light guidance for very narrow beam angles using readily obtainable systems with a combination of reflector and lens
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Pins positioned on the collimator facilitate precise and fast installation on the PCB using screws or clips. The screwed-on attachment to the heat sink also forms a thermal connection, providing heat management for the LED chips.
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