Introduction to Nonimaging Optics, 2nd Edition

2

Fundamental Concepts

2.1 Introduction

Imaging optical systems have three main components—the object, the optic, and the image it forms. The object is considered as a set of points that emit light in all directions. The light (or part of it) from each point on the object is captured by the optical system and concentrated onto a point in the image. The distances between points on the image may be scaled relative to those on the object, resulting in magnification.

Nonimaging optical systems, instead of an object, have a light source, and instead of an image, have a receiver. Instead of an image of the source, the optic produces a prescribed illuminance (or irradiance) pattern on the receiver.

The first application of nonimaging optics was ...