Microsharp Breakthrough Improves Optical Efficiency of Fresnel Lenses

 

Microsharp, a major U.K. optical film designer and producer, in collaboration with David Robertson of Durham University (working as a Royal Society Industrial Fellow), have developed and patented an important innovation in mould cutting technology that leads to a more precise reproduction of optical facets in thin film optical structures. 

 

This innovation allows the manufacture of thin film, optical micro structures with significantly improved optical efficiency.  Microprismatic films with sharp facet angles have been made for many years using single point diamond turning. However these films are restricted to one prism repeated across the entire film. Many film designs, such as Fresnel lenses, require variation in prism angle across the film.

Included angle diamond turning (InADiT) enable such variation whilst creating sharper definition at the troughs and peaks of micro facets which significantly improves optical performance.

Thin film, Fresnel lenses are significantly cheaper to produce than traditional cast lenses due to the continuous high speed production process, but have suffered from inferior optical performance due to losses associated with the high number of micro facets used.

 With existing cutting processes such as single point or contoured diamond cutting, minor defects are caused at the peak and troughs of each facet, leading to optical losses that are made significant by the high number of facets in the lens.

By employing the InADiT process, Microsharp  can now produce thin film Fresnel lenses in both point focus and linear focus formats that exhibit optical efficiencies in excess of 85%.

Microsharp's Thin Film Fresnel Lens products are targeted primarily at two markets.....

1.       Solar Concentration Devices- where lenses are used to focus sunlight onto either Photovoltaic cells or Thermal Collection devices. Depending on the application, concentration rations of between X10 and X500 suns can be achieved

2.   Large Area Lighting Luminaires- Fresnel lenses can be used to collimate L.E.D point light-sources to efficiently produce large area, uniformly lit panels and in the production of devices that require light direction.

 

For more information on the InADit process visit                      

  http://www.microsharp.co.uk/what-we-do/inadit/

For more information on Thin Film Fresnel lens application contact us at    

  info@microsharp.co.uk

or call us on Tel +44(0)1793 782878

 

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