Application Guide

Optical Calculations for SSL Applications

Introduction
Back of the envelope calculations are useful at the
beginning of a project for estimating LED type and
count. Techniques for calculating optical quantities
and estimating LED count will be presented for
some typical applications.

between perfectly specular and perfectly diffuse

(see Fig. 2). Light passing through a surface can
also be diffusely transmitted.

Optical Principals
Before any calculations can be started, a basic
understanding of optical principles must be
established. The principles most important for SSL
applications are reflection, refraction, and total
internal reflection (TIR).
Reflection
The law of reflection states that for a ray striking a
reflective surface, the angle of incidence is equal to
the angle of reflection (see Fig. 1).

1 2

Figure 2. Typical reflection with both specular

and diffuse components (adapted from the
IESNA Lighting Handbook, 9th edition).
Refraction
When light passes from one media into another
(say, from air to plastic), it is bent (changes
direction). The angle of this change in direction
follows Snells Law, which is:

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2 ,
where n1 and n2 are the indicies of refraction of the
two media, 1 is the angle of incidence, and 2 is
the angle of the refracted ray (see Fig. 3).

Figure 1. Law of reflection.

A reflection that obeys this law is called a specular
reflection. If the reflective surface has some
roughness (which is always the case), some portion
of the incident light will be reflected at some angle
other than the specular angle of reflection. In the
extreme condition, the reflective surface is perfectly
diffuse and the reflected light scatters in all
directions. In practice, reflections are somewhere

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Application Guide
At every interface between two media, some of the
light will be transmitted (refracted) and some will be
reflected. In the case of a lens, the reflected light is
considered to be lost. This is called Fresnel loss or
Fresnel reflection and is dependent upon the
indicies of refraction of the two media and the angle
of incidence. Figure 4 shows how these losses
vary with angle of incidence. As evident from the
chart, these losses become significant at around
60 for plastic.

1
n1
n2
2
n2 > n1

Figure 3. Law of refraction.

Fresnel Loss Through Flat Acrylic Plate

100.0%
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
Transmitted

50.0%

Ref lected

40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Incident Angle (deg)

Figure 4. Fresnel loss.

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70

80

90

Application Guide
Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
When light is passing from a more dense medium
to a less dense medium (greater index to lesser
index, such as plastic to air), the change in angle
obeys Snells Law. However, as the angle of
incidence increases, there comes a point where the
light does not escape the plastic and the air-plastic
interface acts as a mirror. This phenomenon is
called Total Internal Reflection (TIR). The angle at
which this occurs is called the Critical Angle and
depends upon the two materials (see Fig. 5).
Because the reflection is lossless (free of Fresnel
losses), high efficiency optics can be designed
which make use of this principle.

Conversion from radiometric Watts to photometric

lumens is accomplished by the equation
780

= K S ( )V ( )d
380

where S ( ) is the radiometric spectrum, V ( ) is

the response curve of the eye, and K is a constant.
Figure 6 shows the spectra of a white LED in
radiometric and photometric units.

nt
ni
i

Figure 5. Total internal reflection.

Optical Quantities
We now move onto defining optical quantities and
units. Radiometric quantities refer to optical
radiation in general. Photometric quantities are the
radiometric quantities weighted to the response of
the human eye. For visible lighting applications,
only photometric quantities will be used.
Radiometric and Photometric Quantities
For visible applications, we are typically concerned
with luminous flux, luminous intensity, illuminance,
and luminance.

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Figure 6. Spectrum of a white LED; radiometric

(top) and photometric (bottom).
Luminous flux has units of lumens and is a
measure of optical power. Osram Opto
Seminconductors LEDs for SSL applications are
binned by luminous flux. Most optical calculations
seek to discover how many source lumens (and
therefore, number of LEDs) are required for an
application.

Application Guide
Historically, most high-power LEDs have a nearly
Lambertian intensity distribution, i.e. I = I 0 cos
(see Fig. 9).

Figure 9. Radiation characteristic of a so-called

Lambertian LED.
Besides Lambertian, Osram Opto Semiconductors
LEDs come in a variety of intensity distributions
designed to suit specific applications (see Fig. 10).
Figure 7. Flux binning. Note the relationship
between flux and drive current.
Luminous intensity (or simply intensity) is the
amount of light in a direction. Its units are lumens
per unit solid angle (in steradians), or candela. The
concept of solid angle is illustrated in Fig. 8.
Surface Area = A

Sphere radius = R

Figure 10. Non-Lambertian distributions of

(clockwise, starting at top left) the Golden
DRAGON Plus, Golden DRAGON Oval Plus, and
OSLON 80 LEDs.

Solid Angle = A/R2

Units: Steradians (sr)

Illuminance is the amount of light falling on a

surface and has units of lumens per unit area.
Metric units are lux (lumens per square meter),
while English units are foot-candles (lumens per
square foot). An important concept related to
illuminance is the inverse-square law,

Figure 8. Solid angle.

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Application Guide
Optical Loss Factors
I
E= 2
R
where I = intensity of the source and R = distance
from the source. Downlights are specified by their
center beam intensity and illuminances at different
distances (see case study on page 7).
Luminance is the amount of light from a surface in
a direction. It is lumens per projected solid angle
per area, and is typically measured in candela per
square meter, or Nits. Luminance is what the eye
detects; when people talk about the brightness of
a light, they are actually describing luminance.

In order to calculate the number of lumens (and

therefore, number of LEDs) for an application, the
losses in the optical system must be accounted for.
These include the collection efficiency (how much
of the initial light is directed in a useful direction),
and reflection & transmission losses (due to
Fresnel losses and absorption). The table below
summarizes some rule-of-thumb loss factors for
various optical elements. (The loss factors were
collected from several suppliers of off-the-shelf
optics).

Reflectors

TIR Lenses

% Reflectivity of the surface

% Transmission

Vacuum metalized aluminum: 82% - 87%

Includes collection efficiency and Fresnel losses

Aluminum w/enhanced coatings: 95%

82% - 88%

Silver w/enhanced coatings: 98%

NOTE: does not necessarily include collection
efficiency

Diffusers

Cover Lens

% Transmission

% Transmission

Textured plastic: 65% - 75%

Injection molded plastic (PC or PMMA): 85% (typ)

Holographic diffusers: 85% - 92%

Plastic sheet: 85% - 88%

NOTE: Fresnel losses must be considered for high
angles.

Table 1. Rule-of-thumb optical loss factors.

For reflectors, it is necessary to consider the
reflectivity of the surface and its collection
efficiency. The reflectivity is only applied to the
light that actually strikes the reflector. Aluminum
coated plastic reflectors are common, and their
reflectivity is typically in the range of 82%-87%
depending on how well the plastic is molded and

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how well the aluminum coating is applied. For a

first estimate, a value of 85% can be used.
It should be noted that white reflectors can have
comparable values for reflectivity, but the
reflections will be less specular. The spectrum of
the light and spectral reflectivity of the white
material also become important.

Application Guide
The loss factor of TIR lenses includes the collection
efficiency and Fresnel losses at the entrance and
exit interfaces. Off-the-shelf optics typically have
loss factors ranging from 82%-88%. A value of
85% is typical for a first estimate.
Refractors (lenses) and flat cover lenses are similar
to reflectors in terms of their loss factors. An
imaging lens can only collect a portion of the LED
light. It will also have transmission loss due to
Fresnel loss and manufacturing tolerances.
Because of their higher efficiencies, TIR lenses are
generally preferred for SSL applications.
For many applications, a cover lens is added for
protection from the environment. Even a flat lens
will have Fresnel losses and manufacturing losses.
A cover lens with a contoured shape can have a
transmission of 85%. Flat plastic sheets tend to be
higher, in the range of 85%-88%. It is also
important to remember that Fresnel losses can
become significant for high angles of incidence.
Sometimes, a diffuser is added to the system to
increase the uniformity of the lit appearance or the
output beam. This could be anything from texturing
the cover lens to using a holographic diffuser.
Transmission losses can vary greatly, so some idea
of what specific diffuser will be used is necessary
for making calculations.

Application Case Studies

Two case studies will be used to help illustrate the
calculations. The first is a streetlight application
based upon an actual project. The second is an
idealized down light.
Streetlight LED Retrofit
This was a demonstration project using an existing
luminaire. The project parameters were as follows:
LED: Osram Opto Semiconductors OSLON 80

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# of LEDs: 66
Source lumens per LED: 112 lm
Optical system: stock TIR lenses (1 per LED).
The optics & LEDs were mounted on PCBs, each
of which were aimed in a particular direction to
achieve the final beam pattern.
The question is: how many lumens can be
expected on the ground? Lifetime, power
consumption, and cost considerations led to
constraints on the number of LEDs and the drive
current. The number of LEDs was known to be 66,
and the source lumens were expected to be 112
based upon the expected flux bin and drive current.
Additional optical losses were expected from the
cap and the base (see Fig. 11).

Light is
directed as
shown

Figure 11. Streetlight retrofit.

The Optic Loss Factor is the efficiency of the TIR
optic. The Outer Lens loss factor is set at 85%
since the Fresnel losses are not expected to be
high. The amount of light blocked by the cap and
lamp base (Blocked light loss factor) is unknown,
but (hopefully) should be small; a 10% loss is
assumed.
One important non-optical loss factor needs to be
included, and that is thermal degradation. As the
LED gets hotter, its light output drops. The thermal
degradation depends on the LED junction
temperature (Tj), which in turn depends upon
ambient temperature, LED power, and thermal

Application Guide
management system (PCB, heatsink, fans, etc.). A
junction temperature target of 70 C is assigned in
order to meet the LED lifetime goal. From the
datasheet, for a Tj of 70 C, the thermal loss factor
is 0.9. With this additional factor, the calculation of
Total Beam Lumens becomes:

Datasheet Lumens 112

Optic Loss Factor 0.85
Outer lens loss factor 0.85
Blocked light loss
factor 0.9
# LEDs 66
Thermal Loss factor 0.9
Total Beam Lumens 4311
When the prototype was built and measured, the
actual beam lumens came out to 4403, which is
very close to the estimate considering all the
assumptions that were made.
Indoor Downlight
Consider a downlight with a known maximum
center beam candlepower (MCBCP). What is the
illuminance, in foot-candles, at different mounting
heights?
The units candlepower are equivalent to
candela. Both are measurements of intensity, in
lumens per steradian. To solve this problem, we
use the inverse square law equation

E=

I
R2

Using MCBCP = 1000 cd, the table below shows

illuminance for different mounting heights:

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Mounting
Height R
(ft)
8
10
12

Max
Illuminance
E (fc)
15.63
10.00
6.94

For a second example, assume the mounting

height, area to be illuminated, and average
illuminance are known. How many warm white
OSLON LEDs (LCW CP7P) will be needed
assuming secondary optics and a cover lens are
used?
The sketch below illustrates the application and the
equation needed for the calculation.

E=

E
A

For the optical system, assume TIR optics are used

to shape the beam, and a clear cover lens is also
present. The calculations are shown in the table
below:

Application Guide
Mounting height R (m)
2
Area A (m )
Average illuminance E (lx)
Req'd Lumens in Area A
Optic Loss
Cover Lens Loss
Thermal Loss
Req'd Source Lumens
Min. LED Lumens (KR bin)
# LEDs

minimum lumens per LED. For the purposes of this

calculation, flux bin KR is assumed. From the
datasheet, the minimum lumens in this bin is 82.

2.50
3.37
150
505
0.85
0.85
0.80
743
82
9.1

Conclusion
Making back-of-the-envelope calculations for LED
lighting requires only a basic understanding of the
optical concepts and some typical loss factor
values. While these initial calculations are useful,
more detailed analysis using simulation software
and prototypes can lead to reductions in LED count
and design complexity.

The required lumens in area A are calculated using

the equation in the sketch. The required source
lumens are the required lumens in area A divided
by the three loss factors. Finally, the number of
LEDs is the required source lumens divided by the

About Osram Opto Semiconductors

Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Regensburg, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Osram GmbH, one of the
worlds three largest lamp manufacturers, and offers its customers a range of solutions based on
semiconductor technology for lighting, sensor and visualization applications. The company operates facilities in
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www.osram-os.com.
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use of these contents.
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Furthermore, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH cannot be made liable for any damage that occurs in
connection with the use of a product of one of OSRAM Opto Semiconductor GmbH's partners, or with the use
of a combination of an OSRAM Opto Semiconductor GmbH's product and a product of one of OSRAM Opto
Semiconductor GmbH's partners.
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This document constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy or subscribe for securities. Any such
offer will be made solely on the basis of the Securities Prospectus yet to be approved by the German Financial

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Application Guide
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