IODC 2010 Illumination problem

NOTE: The Problem Statement was changed within a few weeks of the original posting. Please review before you submit.

Problem description:

Transfer maximum monochromatic flux from a 1-mm-square Lambertian source in air to an equal-etendue nonimmersed target. The target surface is rectangular with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The surface area of the target must be at least 4 mm². The target is defined such that only rays incident on the target surface at angles of θmax or less, relative to the surface normal, are considered to be within the phase space of the target, where the value of θmax is determined by the equal-étendue requirement.

Problem design degrees of freedom:

Can be any combination of idealized refractive and reflective components.

Assumptions and constraints

The only media allowed are air (index of 1) or dielectrics with refractive index in the range 1.33 - 1.59.

The coupling efficiency will be computed in the geometrical optics approximation using 100,000 pseudo-randomly generated rays. Optical losses produced by the following material characteristics will be included in the efficiency computation:

• Mirror reflectivity = 95% at all angles.
• TIR reflectivity = 100% at all angles.
• Bulk absorption loss for all dielectric materials = 0.5% per cm.
• Fresnel losses at air-dielectric interfaces = 2% at all angles.
• Fresnel losses between two different dielectric interfaces = 0.2% at all angles.
• No Fresnel losses within a gradient index material.
•  Minimum size of a component and edge thickness = 0.1 mm.
• Minimum air space between components (including source) = 0.1 mm
• No volume or surface scattering.
• Light that finds its way back into the source is fully absorbed.

Submission instructions

Submissions should include an optics model (SAT, STEP, CATIA, Parasolid files) that can be run in commercial software and a Powerpoint presentation describing the solution and the computed performance results.

All entries must be submitted by April 1, 2010.
Please send submission and question to Roland Winston ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )