In recent years, lighting manufacturers and developers have moved away from traditional light sources and to LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. While LEDs offer many benefits such as excellent energy efficiency, the point sources also present some problems in general-illumination applications - glare, for instance. So in LED lighting developments, engineers must design lens systems and covers that are optimized in terms of their light diffusion properties to eliminate the LED glare issue.

　　Interested in articles & announcements on light diffusers & SSL design components?

　　Glass and transparent plastics, especially acrylic resins, have long been used in the lighting industry for various aesthetic and functional purposes in optics design. But as the lighting market moves increasingly to LED technology, requirements for high light diffusion have spurred lens and cover manufacturers to devote much of their activity to developing suitable plastic solutions.

　　In this, the first in a two-part article series, we will discuss the issue of light diffusion technology in plastic. This article will focus on selecting the optimal polymer as a carrier for the light diffusion system and on how to measure light diffusion properties. In a subsequent article, we will focus on selecting the optimal light diffusion system.