Light shaping diffuser foils and LSDs

Light Shaping Diffusers® are micro-structures pseudo-randomly embedded on a substrate (such as film) which perform optical diffusion. When applied to a lighting structure, the Light Shaping Diffuser® can manipulate light by changing the direction of its energy. This allows our Light Shaping Diffusers® to clean up and shape a light beam to suit a particular purpose.

Light Shaping Diffusers® are often applied architectural lighting, can lights, decorative lighting, pool lighting, set/event lighting and wall wash lighting where the effects of the Light Shaping Diffuser® can be quite dramatic. LED Light Shaping Diffusers® are also used in illumination systems such as aircraft inspection lights; backlit systems such as cellphone and PDA displays; LCD screens and more. One of the most common uses for our light diffusers is to eliminate hot spots on LED light strips.

Thin-film Light Shaping Diffusers® are available in rolls, sheets or parts cut to your specifications. Standard rolls are 24” (600 mm) wide and 500’ (152 m) long. Strip rolls are also available in your specified width. 24"x 24" (600 x 600 mm) rigid sheets are available on polycarbonate in various thicknesses. Contact sales for a quote.

Luminit’s unique LED optical diffuser material is available in a variety of circular and elliptical angles from 1° to 100° on thin film or rigid substrates. Standard angles include: 80ºx50º, 60ºx10º, 80º, 60º, 40º, 30°, 20°, 10°, and 5°. We also offer non-standard angles, including 1°, 2°, 3.5°, 30°×35° 40°×1°, 60°×1°, 69°×30°, 75°×45°, and 90°×10°.

The transmission efficiencies of Luminit optical diffusers are rated between 85-92% (depending on the angle). This very high-efficiency rating is due to the fact that our technology is based on diffractive microstructures. Smaller angle diffusers have the highest transmission.

Since our microstructures are random and non-periodic, the Light Shaping Diffuser® is not wavelength-dependent, so it works best from 400nm to 700 nm.

Yes, Light Shaping Diffusers® are commonly used as an LED strip light diffuser to eliminate the hotspots without a significant reduction in the amount of the light, provided that the diffuser is placed a sufficient distance from the LEDs. A rule of thumb is that the diffuser must be at least as far away from the LEDs as the LEDs are spaced apart.

Yes, Luminit optical diffusion films are so precise that beam shaping is possible. Our patented holographic master recording process allows a variety of circular and elliptical light patterns. Standard circular angles range from 0.5˚ to 100˚ FWHM. A wide variety of standard elliptical angles, ranging from 10˚x0.2˚ to 95˚x35˚, are available.

FWHM is an abbreviation for Full-Width Half-Maximum which is the angle of diffusion that would be seen after a collimated laser passes through the diffuser.

For indoor applications, a Light Shaping Diffuser® can last as long as the light structure. For outdoor applications, measures may need to be taken to prevent yellowing of the film due to exposure to the sun. For outdoor lighting applications, Luminit offers an optional UV-stable substrate to help prevent yellowing.

The diffuser has improved transmission characteristics if the microstructure side is facing the light source, but it has better source hiding characteristics if the microstructure side is facing away from the light source.

We suggest you handle the diffuser with clean latex gloves. High angle diffusers are very prone to damage due the height of the microstructures. They can be cleaned carefully using optical wipes and ethanol using the industry-standard “drop and drag” technique.

We recommend you find a mechanical means of securing the diffuser into your system, for example using the natural tension of a film on curved surface. We offer pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) as an option but this process is difficult and you may experience the incorporation of air bubbles during the lamination process.

No, since our technology is based on a surface relief pattern, these parameters are not dependent on the thickness of the substrate. However, there are inherently additional transmission losses if very thick substrates are utilised (Beer’s Law).

This depends on the angle of divergence and spacing of the light sources. With 110° Field of View, surface mount LEDs, the relationship is around 1:1. That is, if the LEDs are spaced 1 inch apart then you will need a little more than 1-inch distance from the LEDs to our largest diffuser angles. Here is an illustration demonstrating the ratios with various angle diffusers.