Optical Engineering 46共3兲, 033001 共March 2007兲

Uniform illumination of distant targets using

a spherical light-emitting diode array
Ivan Moreno, MEMBER SPIE Abstract. An array of light-emitting diodes 共LEDs兲 assembled upon a
Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas spherical surface can produce a wider angle distribution of light than a
Unidad Academica de Fisica typical array 共i.e., an array assembled by mounting LEDs into a flat sur-
Apdo. Postal C-580 face兲. Arranging each single LED into an optimal placement, the unifor-
98060 Zacatecas, Zacatecas mity of the illumination of a target can be improved. We derive approxi-
Mexico mate formulas and equations for the optimum LED-to-LED angular
spacing of several spherical arrangements for uniform far-field irradi-
ance. These design conditions are compact and simple tools that incor-
Jesús Muñoz, MEMBER SPIE porate an explicit dependence on the half-intensity viewing angle 共half
Universidad de Guadalajara width half maximum angle兲 of LEDs. © 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumen-
tation Engineers. 关DOI: 10.1117/1.2715562兴
Centro Universitario de Los Lagos
Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico Subject terms: light-emitting diodes; LED lamps; lighting; uniform illumination.
Paper 060329R received May 5, 2006; revised manuscript received Sep. 13,
Rumen Ivanov 2006; accepted for publication Sep. 20, 2006; published online Mar. 20, 2007.
Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas This paper is a revision of a paper presented at the SPIE conference on Fifth
Symposium Optics in Industry, Feb. 2006, Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico. This
Unidad Academica de Fisica
paper presented there appears 共unrefereed兲 in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6046.
Apdo. Postal C-580
98060 Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Mexico

1 Introduction knowledge, design tools concerning such arrays for uni-

form far-field irradiance have not yet been reported.
Solid-state lighting technology is displacing traditional il- In this paper, we propose a first order design of light
lumination sources due to unique advantages, mainly in sources consisting of multiple LEDs assembled upon a
luminous efficacy, compactness, and durability.1–3 How- spherical surface to uniformly illuminate distant targets. We
ever, several individual light-emitting diodes 共LEDs兲 must model each single source as an imperfect Lambertian emit-
be mounted on a lamp to produce a practical power.4 The ter to derive simple approximate expressions for determin-
precise power requirements depend on the particular appli- ing the optimal placement of each single LED.
cation.
LEDs emit light into one hemisphere with some degree 2 General Considerations
of directionality. As a consequence, LED arrays can be de- To create practical design tools, we assume for our analysis
signed to easily direct emission into specific lighting pat- that
terns without additional optics. Recently, we derived design
formulas for typical arrays 共assemblies that lie upon a flat 1. The illuminated object is a planar surface in front of
surface兲 to achieve uniform near-field irradiance;5 we then the LED array.
successfully applied these tools to design and assemble 2. Our approach considers LED arrays in the absence of
multicolor LED clusters to produce uniform color any optical diffuser.
distributions.6 3. Because LEDs are sources that can emit infrared, vis-
One important practical problem is to produce a uniform ible, or ultraviolet radiation, we use the radiometric
illumination on distant targets.7–9 Flat arrays are practical to
achieve uniform near-field irradiance, but for the far-field
case, the array size is as large as the uniformly illuminated
area,5 which is impractical for the size of a typical lamp. An
array of LEDs assembled upon a spherical surface can pro-
duce a wider angle distribution of light than a typical plane
array. Recently, a LED technology company introduced a
new three-dimensional LED array 共assembled upon a
spherical surface兲 to produce a wide-angle distribution.10
Several patents have registered circular and spherical
arrays,11,12 and a spherical array was recently designed to
maximize the minimum intensity in the service area of op-
tical wireless local area network systems.13 However, in our
Fig. 1 Geometry of a LED displaced to position 共R, ␪, ␾兲 and the
0091-3286/2007/$25.00 © 2007 SPIE illuminated target.

Optical Engineering 033001-1 March 2007/Vol. 46共3兲

 Moreno, Munoz, and Ivanov: Uniform illumination of distant targets…
terminology to create design tools for a wider variety
of illumination systems.
4. We approximate the irradiance variation with dis-
tance with the inverse square law for a point source
because the emitting region of LEDs is typically less
than 1 mm on a side. This approximation is true even
for the midfield region and for some part of the near
zone.
5. The distance to the target is large enough compared
to the spherical array radius to warrant the far-field
approximation.
6. All LEDs of each array have equal values of radiant
flux and equal distributions in space and wavelength.
However, because distributions of irradiance and
color of assembled LEDs are not exactly equal, even
among LEDs of the same type,14 this should be con-
sidered for an exact design.
Traditionally, a single LED is optically modeled on re-
关共x − R sin ␪ cos ␾兲sin ␪ cos ␾ + 共y − R sin ␪ sin ␾兲sin ␪ sin ␾ + 共z − R cos ␪兲cos ␪兴m
E共x,y,z;R, ␪, ␾兲 = ALEDLLED
关共x − R sin ␪ cos ␾兲2 + 共y − R sin ␪ sin ␾兲2 + 共z − R cos ␪兲2兴共m+2兲/2
where LLED is the radiance 共W m−2 sr−1兲 of the LED chip
and ALED is the LED emitting area 共m2兲. The number m is
given by the angle ␪1/2 共a value typically provided by the
manufacturer, defined as the view angle when radiant inten-
sity is half of the value at 0 deg兲
− ln 2
m= , 共2兲
ln共cos ␪1/2兲
where m depends on the relative position of the LED emit-
ting region from the curvature center of the spherical
encapsulant.21 If the chip position coincides with the cur-
vature center, the number m is nearly 1, and the source is
nearly a perfect Lambertian 共e.g., some Lumileds® and
Lamina® LEDs兲. Usual LEDs often have a larger value of
m, and thus become more directional emitters 共e.g., some
Nichia® LEDs兲.
3 Designs for Uniform Far-Field Irradiance
We apply the theory of the optimal lamp placement to pro-
duce uniform illumination.22 This theory consists of setting
several terms in the two-dimensional Taylor series expan-
sion of the resulting irradiance function to zero. Arranging
the LEDs symmetrically, only one series term is sufficient,
which is the equivalent to applying the Sparrow’s criterion
共used in image resolution兲.5 Using this criteria, the angle
between each pair of LEDs can be adjusted so that the
combined irradiance distribution is uniform, that is, the in-
dividual irradiance patterns are separated optimally to
eliminate the minimum between the maxima from each pair
of distribution. In other words, differentiating total irradi-
Optical Engineering 033001-2
alistic numerical models or on measurement-based
models.15–19 Although these time-consuming models can be
useful for trial and error designs of light sources consisting
of multiple LEDs, a practical model is required to analyti-
cally derive quick estimation formulas. We model each
single LED as an imperfect Lambertian emitter, which
means the radiant intensity distribution is a power law of
the viewing-angle cosine function.5,13,20
Because we assume that the illuminated object is a flat
surface, we write the irradiance pattern for a LED displaced
to position 共x0 = R sin ␪ cos ␾, y 0 = R sin ␪ sin ␾, z0
= R cos ␪兲 over the outer surface of a sphere with radius R
in terms of Cartesian coordinates 共x , y , z兲 共see Fig. 1兲. The
irradiance E 共W m−2兲 over every point 共x , y兲 on a flat
screen at distance z from the LED array may be expressed
as
, 共1兲
ance twice and setting it to zero at the target center 共x = 0,
y = 0兲 eventually yields the maximally flat condition for the
angular spacing.
3.1 Array of Two LEDs
For this array 关Fig. 2共a兲兴, the irradiance E is given by the
sum of the irradiances for two LEDs 共the angle between
LEDs is 2␪兲.
E共x,y,z兲 = E共x,y,z;R, ␪,0兲 + E共x,y,z;R,− ␪,0兲. 共3兲
Differentiating E twice and setting ⳵ E / ⳵x = 0 at x = 0 and
2 2
y = 0 yields the maximally flat condition for ␪
m共m − 1兲共m + 2兲−1关R2 sin2␪ + 共z − R cos ␪兲2兴2
⫻关z cos ␪ − R兴−2 + 2mR关R2 sin2␪ + 共z − R cos ␪兲2兴
⫻关z cos ␪ − R兴−1 − sin−2␪关R2 sin2 ␪ + 共z − R cos ␪兲2兴
+ 共m + 4兲R2 = 0, 共4兲
If numerical values for z and R are provided, Eq. 共4兲 may
be easily solved for the optimum value of ␪ for both near-
and far-field cases. For the far field z ⬎ ⬎ R, Eq. 共4兲 can be
significantly reduced giving the condition for uniform irra-
diance
冉冑 冊
m+2
␪o = arctan . 共5兲
m共m − 1兲
This design condition is independent of z 共the distance from
the center of the array to the target center兲. Equation 共5兲
and the following equations are approximately valid for
panel-target distances ⱖ20R.
March 2007/Vol. 46共3兲
 Moreno, Munoz, and Ivanov: Uniform illumination of distant targets…

Fig. 2 Two-LED array. 共a兲 Diagram of the array with a screen at a

distance z. 共b兲 The uniform irradiance distribution 共normalized to its
maximum value兲 along the x direction at y = 0, for m = 0, z = 250 cm,
R = 5 cm, and 2␪ = 2␪o = 15.08 deg. Also, the irradiance distribution of
each LED 共dotted lines兲 is illustrated.

Figure 2共b兲 shows the irradiance distribution along the x

direction for a selected value of m = 60, z = 250 cm, R
= 5 cm, and ␪ = ␪o. As shown in this figure, the irradiance
distribution is constant over the screen region in front of the
LED array.

3.2 Ring Arrays

A ring array 关Fig. 3共a兲兴 has a rotationally symmetric con-
figuration that can be particularly appropriate for LEDs
with quasi-Lambertian distributions. For this array, the total
irradiance E is given by the sum of the contributions of
N ⱖ 3 LEDs
Fig. 3 Ring array of LEDs. 共a兲 Schematic diagram of a spherical
array with N = 6. 共b兲 Two-dimensional irradiance distribution of this
array for m = 3 共a representative value for high-power LEDs兲, z
= 300 cm, R = 7 cm, and 2␪ = 2␪o = 104.48 deg. 共c兲 Resulting one-
dimensional distribution along the x direction at y = 0.

冉 冊 冉冑 冊
N
2␲n
E共x,y,z兲 = 兺 E x,y,z;R, ␪, , 共6兲 ␪o = arctan
2共m + 2兲
. 共7兲
n=1 N m共m − 1兲

where 2␪ is the angle between each pair of LEDs. The
symmetry makes the problem one dimensional so that with-
out loss of generality we can calculate the maximally flat
condition along any radial axis on screen, such as the x axis
at y = 0. Differentiating E twice and setting ⳵2E / ⳵x2 = 0 at
x = 0 and y = 0, yields the maximally flat condition. For the
far field, the optimal angle ␪o is
This condition is again independent of z and curiously in-
dependent of the number N of LEDs that assemble the ring.
Therefore, the number of LEDs that assemble a ring does
not appreciably affect the uniformity of the illumination. A
similar conclusion for both point22 and LED5 sources, uni-
formly spaced along a coplanar circle, was previously
proven. Figure 3 shows the design of a circular ring array

Optical Engineering 033001-3 March 2007/Vol. 46共3兲

 Moreno, Munoz, and Ivanov: Uniform illumination of distant targets…

Fig. 4 Uniform irradiance pattern 共along the x direction at y = 0兲 for a

ring array with one LED in the center. The design parameters are
N = 5, m = 30, z = 300 cm, R = 7 cm, 2␪ = 2␪o = 43.4 deg, and ⌽o
= 0.64.

with 6 LEDs and the corresponding uniform irradiance pat-

tern.
For a ring array of N LEDs with one LED in the center,
the maximally flat condition, Eq. 共7兲, does not give a flat
irradiance pattern. To obtain a flat irradiance pattern, the
relative flux of the middle LED must be adjusted. The op-
timal angle ␪o then becomes

␪o = arctan 冉冑 2共2m + 1兲
共m − 2兲共m − 1兲
冊
. 共8兲

This condition is again independent of the number N of

LEDs that assemble the ring; however, the optimum rela- Fig. 5 Linear array of LEDs. 共a兲 Schematic illustration of an array
tive flux ⌽o = ⌽center / ⌽ring 共where ⌽center and ⌽ring are the with N = 10. 共b兲 The uniform irradiance distribution of this array, along
radiant fluxes of the middle LED and of one LED over the the x direction at y = 0, for m = 6, z = 250 cm, R = 5 cm, and ␪0
ring, respectively兲 linearly depends on N = 9.5 deg.

⌽o = N 冉 m2 + m + 4
m2 − 4
冊
cosm␪o .
Figure 4 illustrates the uniform irradiance pattern for a ring
array with one LED in the center. We included the curve
共for m = 30兲 of Fig. 3共c兲 in Fig. 4 for comparison purposes.
We can appreciate that for the ring with a centered LED,
the irradiance distribution is uniform over a larger region
than the pattern produced by a simple ring.
共9兲
= 2. We proved several intuitive functions for ␪n = f共n , ␪0兲,
where ␪0 is the angle between the optical axis and the near-
est LED. However, due to the asymmetry between the ge-
ometries of array and target, the functions that yielded a flat
pattern over the largest target region were
␪n = arctan关共N + 1 − 2n兲tan ␪0兴, N even,

3.3 Linear Arrays

For this array 关Fig. 5共a兲兴, the total irradiance E is given by ␪n = arctan关0.5共N + 1 − 2n兲tan ␪0兴, N odd. 共12兲
the sum of the contributions of N LEDs Computation of the maximally flat condition is reduced to
N obtain ␪0 from Eqs. 共11兲 and 共12兲, but an analytical solution
E共x,y,z兲 = 兺 E共x,y,z;R, ␪n,0兲,
for this equation proved difficult. However, when numeri-
共10兲
n=1
cal values for m and N are provided, the solution can be
easily obtained with any mathematical program. Figure 5
where ␪n is the angular coordinate of the nth LED. In the shows the design of a linear array with 10 LEDs and the
far field, the maximally flat condition obtained by setting corresponding uniform irradiance pattern.
⳵2E / ⳵x2 = 0 at 共x = 0, y = 0兲 is
N
3.4 Multiple-Ring Arrays
兺 关m共m − 1兲 − 共m2 + 2兲cos2␪n兴cosm−2␪n = 0,
n=1
共11兲 The irradiance of a LED array with multiple-ring geometry
关Fig. 6共a兲兴 is given by the sum of the irradiances for M
which yields ␪n in functions of m and N. Equation 共11兲 rings, each ring with Ni LEDs 共where i = 1 . . . M and Ni
gives the design condition for a two-LED array when N ⱖ 3 LEDs兲

Optical Engineering 033001-4 March 2007/Vol. 46共3兲

 Moreno, Munoz, and Ivanov: Uniform illumination of distant targets…

兺
i=1
关m共m − 1兲tan2␪i − 2共m + 2兲兴Ni cosm␪i = 0, 共14兲

which yields ␪i in functions of m, Ni, and M. We proved

several intuitive functions for ␪i = f共i , ␪0兲 for different com-
binations of Ni values 共␪0 is the optimum angle between the
optical axis and the first ring, that is, ␪0 is the optimum
value of ␪1兲. A function that optimizes the LED distribution
of LEDs over the array surface is

␪i = arctan关ik tan ␪0兴, 共15兲

where k determines the fraction of the emitted power en-
closed within the uniformly illuminated area. Therefore,
computation of the maximally flat condition is reduced to
obtain ␪0 from Eq. 共14兲 by using Eq. 共15兲. Figure 6 shows
the design of a multiple-ring array with 18 LEDs and the
corresponding uniform irradiance pattern. We included the
curve 共for m = 30兲 of Fig. 3共c兲 in Fig. 6共c兲 for the purpose of
comparison. Figure 6共c兲 indicates that both arrays, single
and multiple rings, produce almost the same flat pattern.
However, due to the finite size of each single LED, the
multiple-ring array can incorporate 共in the same available
space兲 a larger number of LEDs than the single-ring array.
This is particularly useful for high-power applications.
One way to illuminate a larger area is to adjust the rela-
tive flux ⌽i = ⌽ring−i / ⌽ring−1 of each ring. The irradiance for
such an array is
M Ni

再
E共x,y,z兲 = 兺 兺 ⌽iE x,y,z;R, ␪i,
i=1 n=1
2␲n
Ni
.冎 共16兲

The optimum values of the relative radiant fluxes and the

angle ␪0 can be obtained from Eq. 共15兲 and
M

兺
i=1
关m共m − 1兲tan2␪i − 2共m + 2兲兴⌽iNi cosm␪i = 0, 共17兲

M
d␪
兺
i=1
关2共2m + 1兲 − 共m − 1兲共m − 2兲tan2␪i兴
d ␪
i

⫻⌽iNi tan ␪i cosm␪i = 0. 共18兲

Fig. 6 Multiple-ring array of LEDs. 共a兲 Schematic illustration of an
array with M = 3 共three rings兲, N1,2,3 = 6. 共b兲 The two-dimensional ir-
radiance pattern for m = 30, z = 300 cm, R = 7 cm, ␪1 = ␪0 = 12.1 deg,
␪2 = 16.9 deg, ␪3 = 20.4 deg, and k = 0.5. 共c兲 Resulting one-
dimensional irradiance distribution along the x direction at y⫽0.
Figure 7 shows the design of a two-ring array with 12
LEDs, and the corresponding uniform irradiance pattern.
We included the curve of a two-ring array with equal fluxes
for the purpose of comparison. Figure 7 indicates that by
adjusting the relative fluxes, the uniformly illuminated area
can be significantly increased, particularly when the values
␪1 and ⌽2 given by Eqs. 共17兲 and 共18兲 are slightly increased
through trial and error. However, for some applications, all
LEDs should be operated at equal radiant flux.

3.5 Demonstrative Experiment

M Ni

再
E共x,y,z兲 = 兺 兺 E x,y,z;R, ␪i,
i=1 n=1
2␲n
Ni
.冎 共13兲
We performed a simple demonstrative experiment with a
two-LED spherical array assembled with R = 3.3 cm 共radius
is measured from the origin of coordinates to the chip-
image position, which in our LEDs coincides with the en-
Setting ⳵2E / ⳵x2 = 0 at 共x = 0, y = 0兲 gives the design condi- capsulant base兲. These LEDs 共Steren® 5/Ultra White兲 emit
tion for the far field white light with m = 64.66 共measured with respect to the

Optical Engineering 033001-5 March 2007/Vol. 46共3兲

 Moreno, Munoz, and Ivanov: Uniform illumination of distant targets…
Fig. 7 Uniform irradiance pattern 共along the x direction at y = 0兲 for a
multiple-ring array of LEDs with different relative radiant flux for
each ring. The design parameters are M = 2 共two rings兲, N1 = 4, N2
= 8, m = 5, z = 300 cm, R = 7 cm. Using Eqs. 共17兲 and 共18兲, curve 共a兲
shows the resulting distribution for ␪1 = ␪0 = 15 deg, ␪2 = 56.3 deg,
⌽2 = 2.2, and k = 2.5. By using the values ␪1 and ⌽2 of 共a兲 as starting
values, curve 共b兲 shows the resulting pattern after a quick process of
trial and error for ␪1 = ␪0 = 18.9 deg, ␪2 = 62.7 deg, ⌽2 = 2.71, and k
= 2.5. Curve 共c兲 shows the resulting distribution for an array with
equal values of flux for all LEDs, for ␪1 = ␪0 = 34.3 deg, ␪2 = 44 deg,
and k = 0.5.
chip-image position兲. The light transmitted through the
screen 共a translucent diffuse sheet兲, placed at z = 68.4 cm,
was imaged with a charge-coupled device camera. Figure 8
shows the recorded and simulated irradiance patterns. For
the purpose of comparison, Fig. 8 includes the simulation
and measurement for the angles 2␪ = 12, 14, and 16 deg.
The experiment agrees with the theoretical predictions, par-
ticulary when 2␪ ⬃ 14 deg, confirming the above analysis.
Fig. 8 共a兲 Experimental and 共b兲 theoretical irradiance patterns of a
two-LED array with optimal angle 2␪0 = 14.5 deg with Eq. 共5兲 and
13.8 deg with Eq. 共4兲.
Optical Engineering 033001-6
4 Conclusions
LEDs emit light into only one hemisphere with some de-
gree of directionality; therefore, a compact LED array must
be assembled upon a convex surface to distribute light over
a large area. We have analyzed the optimum LED-to-LED
angular spacing of light sources consisting of multiple
LEDs, assembled upon a spherical surface, to uniformly
illuminate a distant target. Practical equations and formulas
were derived for four representative array configurations.
These design tools offer an easy way to estimate the per-
formance of LED spherical lamps due to the explicit depen-
dence on ␪1/2 共typically provided by the manufacturer兲, the
configuration geometry, and the number of LEDs that as-
semble the array.
The derived analytical expressions can be a practical
tool for both quick estimations 共first-order designs兲 and as
starting points 共to reduce the computation time兲 for exact
designs that must use a realistic LED model.15–19 Depend-
ing on the application, our analysis can be extended to
other array configurations to generate uniform irradiance
over distant targets.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by CONACYT 共Consejo Na-
cional de Ciencia y Tecnologia兲 Grant No. J48199-F. We
thank Maureen Sophia Harkins for proofreading this paper.
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Biographies and photographs of the authors not available.

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