Diffusors are widely used optical components having numerous applications. They are commonly used to homogenize light beams and to create particular intensity distributions. The angular scattering profile of bulk scattering diffusing materials is determined by three bulk scattering parameters that are, however, not commonly available. This hampers an accurate implementation of bulk diffusors in ray tracing simulations. In this paper, the bulk scattering parameters of a concentration series of milk diluted with water were determined with the inverse adding-doubling method. Using these values as input, the macroscopic angular scattering profile was simulated using ray tracing software. The simulation results were compared to experimental data, and a good agreement between measured and simulated data was found. The method was also proven to be successful when applied to commercial diffusors.

Among the complete bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), visual gloss is principally related to physical reflection characteristics located around the specular reflection direction. This particular part of the BRDF is usually referred to as the specular peak. A good starting point for the physical description of gloss could be to measure the reflection properties around this specular peak. Unfortunately, such a characterization is not trivial, since for glossy surfaces the width of the specular peak can become very narrow (typically a full width at half maximum inferior to 0.5° is encountered). In result, new BRDF measurement devices with a very small solid angle of detection are being introduced. Yet, differences in the optical design of BRDF measurement instruments engender different measurement results for the same specimen, complicating direct comparison of the measurement results.This issue is addressed in this paper. By way of example, BRDF measurement results of two samples, one being matte and the other one glossy, obtained by use of two high level goniospectrophotometers with a different optical design, are described. Important discrepancies in the results of the glossy sample are discussed. Finally, luminance maps obtained from renderings with the acquired BRDF data are presented, exemplifying the large visual differences that might be obtained. This stresses the metrological aspects that must be known for using BRDF data. Indeed, the comprehension of parameters affecting the measurement results is an inevitable step towards progress in the metrology of surface gloss, and thus towards a better metrology of appearance in general.

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Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming increasingly important for general lighting applications. The remote phosphor technology, with the phosphor located at a distance from the LEDs, offers an increased extraction efficiency for phosphor converted LEDs compared to intimate phosphor LEDs where the phosphor is placed directly on the die. Additionally, the former offers new design possibilities that are not possible with the latter. In order to further improve the system efficiency of remote phosphor LEDs, realistic simulation models are required to optimize the actual performance. In this work, a complete characterization of a remote phosphor converter (RPC) consisting of a polycarbonate diffuser plate with a phosphor coating on one side via the bi-directional scattering distribution function (BSDF) is performed. Additionally, the bi-spectral BSDF which embraces the wavelength conversion resulting from the interaction of blue light with the RPC is determined. An iterative model to predict the remote phosphor module power and photon budget, including the recuperation of backward scattered light by a mixing chamber, is introduced. The input parameters for the model are the bi-spectral BSDF data for the RPC, the emission of the blue LEDs and the mixing chamber efficiency of the LED module. A good agreement between experimental and simulated results was found, demonstrating the potential of this model to analyze the system efficiency with errors smaller than 4%.

The reliability of ray tracing simulations is strongly dependent on the accuracy of the input data such as the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). Software developers offer the possibility to implement BRDF data in different ways, ranging from simple predefined functions to detailed tabulated data. The impact of the accuracy of the implemented reflectance model on ray tracing simulations has been investigated. A light-emitting diode device including a frequently employed diffuse reflector [microcellular polyethylene terephthalate (MCPET)] was constructed. The luminous intensity distribution (LID) and luminance distribution from a specific viewpoint were measured with a near-field goniophotometer. Both distributions were also simulated by use of ray tracing software. Three different reflection models of MCPET were introduced, varying in complexity: a diffuse model, a diffuse/specular model, and a model containing tabulated BRDF data. A good agreement between the measured and simulated LID was found irrespective of the applied model. However, the luminance distributions only corresponded when the most accurate BRDF model was applied. This proves that even for diffuse reflective materials, a simple BRDF model may only be employed for simulations of the LID; for evaluation of luminance distributions, more complex models are needed.

To obtain realistic results in lighting simulation software, realistic models of light sources are needed. A near-field model of a light source is accurate, and can be obtained by a near-field goniophotometer. This type of goniophotometer is conventionally equipped with a V(λ)-filter. However, the advent of new light sources with spatial- or angular color variations necessitates the inclusion of spectral information about the source. We demonstrate a method to include spectral information of a light source in ray tracing. We measured the relative angular variation of the spectrum of an OLED using a spectroradiometer mounted on a near-field goniophotometer. Principal component analysis (PCA) is exploited to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored. Also a photometric ray file of the OLED was obtained. To construct a set of monochromatic ray files, the luminous flux in the original ray file is redistributed over a set of wavelengths and stored in separate ray files. The redistribution depends on the angle of emission and the spectral irradiance measured in that direction. These ray files are then inserted in ray tracing software TracePro. Using the OLED as a test source, the absolute spectral irradiance is calculated at an arbitrary position. The result is validated using a spectroradiometer to obtain the absolute spectral irradiance at that particular point. A good agreement between the simulated and measured absolute spectral irradiance is found. Furthermore, a set of tristimulus ray files is constructed and used in ray tracing software to generate a u'v'-color coordinate distribution on a surface. These values are in agreement with the color coordinate distribution found using the spectral ray files. Whenever spectral or color information is desired at a task area, the proposed method allows for a fast and efficient way to improve the accuracy of simulations using ray tracing.

This paper reports on the development of a measurement instrument to perform gloss measurements using an image-based detector. The image-based gloss meter was built according to the specifications of the optical layout of a specular gloss meter in a 60°m easurement geometry, as described in ASTM D523-14. The photodiode detector was thereby substituted with a CMOS detector. The optical layout of the system was designed and validated by the use of ray tracing software. A series of 16 matte to high-gloss test samples, with nominal gloss values ranging between 3 and 90 gloss units, was used to compare specular gloss measurements obtained with the developed instrument and a commercial specular gloss meter. An average and maximum deviation of only 1.2 and 2.7 gloss units, respectively, was obtained, confirming the suitability of the system to perform standard specular gloss measurements. The potential benefits of the image-based approach were then studied. By way of example, the optical characterization of orange peel and contrast gloss by the use of the system was discussed, corroborating the fact that the proposed instrument offers important opportunities for a more global characterization of the total gloss impression.

Optical simulations are a common tool in the development of luminaires for lighting applications. The reliability of the virtual prototype is strongly dependent on the accuracy of the input data such as the emission characteristics of the light source and the scattering properties of the optical components (reflectors, filters and diffusers). These scattering properties are characterized by the bidirectional scatter distribution function (BSDF). Experimental determination of the BSDF of the materials is however very sensitive to the characteristics of the measuring instrument, i.e. the dimensions of the illumination spot, the detector aperture, etc. These instrumental characteristics are reflected in the instrument function. In order to eliminate the influence of the instrument function the use of a Bayesian deconvolution technique is proposed. A suitable stopping rule for the iterative deconvolution algorithm is presented. The deconvolution method is validated using Monte Carlo ray tracing software by simulating a BSDF measurement instrument and a virtual sample with a known bidirectional transmittance distribution function (BTDF). The Bayesian deconvolution technique is applied to experimental BTDF data of holographic diffusers, which exhibit a symmetrical angular broadening under normal incident irradiation. In addition, the effect of applying deconvolved experimental BTDF data on simulations of luminance maps is illustrated.