LED and Fresnel design and characterization Using Zemax optical design code

LEDs are more commonly being used in optical systems due to the advances in LED technology in power, efficiency, cost and wavelength output; especially white light LEDs. Fresnel lenses are also cost effective and advancements in aspheric Fresnel lens manufacturing have made these lenses effective optical elements. Various optical design codes allow for accurate modeling of these incoherent light sources and here we use Zemax optical design software. Zemax is becoming the most commonly used optical design software for its capabilities, technical support, and cost. In this paper we discuss two techniques for modeling RGB and white light LEDs and characterize each technique using a Fresnel lens imaging system. LEDs and Fresnel lenses are both cost effective and are being widely used in various optical systems both in industry and defense applications.