Juan C. MIÑANO^1,2, Pablo BENÍTEZ^1,2, and Asunción SANTAMARÍA¹

¹Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Cedint, Campus Montegancedo, Madrid 28223, Spain
²LPI, 2400 Lincoln Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001, U.S.A.

(Received June 26, 2008; Accepted January 23, 2009)

Illumination optics has been the first to benefit from advances in free-form tooling mainly because of its looser requirements (on surface accuracy and finishing). In the last decade, advances in free-form surface tooling have offered the designer possibilities for which there are few theoretical design tools. The available free-form design tools are reviewed with special attention to the most powerful: the SMS 3D design method. Examples of designs done with this method are given.

Key words: optical design, lens design, illumination design, nonimaging optics, LED