understand each other
Terminology & code form
As a optic manufacturer we might use technical terms to navigate the intricacies of designing, manufacturing, and optimizing optical lenses for LEDs.
Whether you’re an experienced optical engineer, a curious enthusiast, or someone seeking to collaborate effectively with our team, this curated collection of terminology will shed light on the language used in the world of LED optics. From discussing beam angles and light distribution to exploring various lens materials and optical simulations, our aim is to facilitate clearer communication and deeper understanding within the LED optics community.
LUMEN
(lm)
A lumen measures the total amount of visible light emitted by a light source, indicating its brightness.
CANDELA
(cd)
The candela is the unit of measurement that quantifies the perceived intensity of light from a source in a specific direction.
LES
Light Emitting Surface
The light emission surface of an LED is the part of the diode that actually emits light when an electric current passes through it.
ABOUT MEASUREMENTs
terminologies related to measurements
FWTM
Full Width Tenth Maximum – 10% (D10) for a light beam is a measurement of the beam’s width at the point where its brightness reaches 10% of its maximum, indicating its width at that intensity level.
FWHM
Full Width Half Maximum – 50%” (D50) for a light beam is a measurement of the beam’s width at the point where its brightness reaches half (50%) of its maximum intensity, providing an indication of its width at that brightness level.
EFFICACY
Luminous intensity (expressed in candelas) divided by the number of lumens emitted by the LED (expressed in lumens). The unit is cd/lm.
LOR
The Light Output Ratio is the number of lumens returned by the optics, divided by the number of lumens emitted by the light source. In other words, it’s the overall transmission of the lens. It’s a percentage that varies according to the lens.
IES
The IES file is a photometric file typically used to describe the light distribution from any optic, lighting fixture or source.
Optimal LED Layout
A color mixing optic requires a particular LED layout in order to work properly. A wrong layout combined with the best possible secondary optic will never provide an efficient color mixing.. We dedicated an article to Optimal LED Layout in our blog.
Talking about beams
Terminologies Related To Beams Angles
Disclaimer : These measurements are given as an indication only; angles may vary depending on the LED.
U/R for Ultra Narrow
N for Narrow
M for Medium
W for Wide
L for Large
V for Very Large
X for Extra Large
S for Super Large
E for Elliptical
Z for Zoom
<10°
≈ 10°
≈ 20°-25°
≈ 30°-35°
≈ 40°
> 50°
≈ 60°
≈ 60°
10°-34°
10°-30°
Talking about DESCRIbing a beam
Describe a projected beam
Cut off
Cut off indicates where the light ceases or is cut off in the light beam, creating a sharp boundary between the illuminated area and darkness.
High bay
High bay refers to a type of luminaire hung high from the ceiling.
COA
Color Over Angle is the variation in the color of a light beam (or more precisely, its color temperature) as a function of the angle of emission.
Talking about COLOR MIXING
Terminology related to color mixing
CCI
Color Consistency Index measures the color rendering quality of a combination of an optical component (collimator) and a LED. We dedicated an article to Color Consistency Index in our blog.
CRI
The Color Rendering Index measures how accurately an artificial light source renders colors compared to an ideal light source. A higher CRI indicates that the light source reproduces colors more faithfully and naturally. A high CRI is generally preferred for more realistic color perception.
Tunable White
It refers to the ability to adjust the color temperature of a light source, shifting from warmer to cooler light as desired or preferred.
Macadam ellipses
MacAdam ellipses describe areas on the CIE1931 color diagram where the human eye cannot distinguish differences between colors, showing how much a color can vary before the change is noticeable. We’re also writing about Macadam ellipse in our blog.
A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING CATALOG OF OPTICS PRODUCT RANGE
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