Radiant Imaging’s ProSource Software allows full data analysis and ray set generation from any Radiant Source Model (RSM) data file. The RSM data files generated by Radiant Imaging’s Source Imaging Goniometers™ are industry standard representations of near-field measurements of light sources and are comprised of thousands of detailed images of a light source from multiple view angles. ProSource provides an intuitive interface to allow the user to view, manipulate, and process RSM data files simply and quickly.

Optical design software formats supported for ray set export include ASAP, FRED, LightTools, SimuLux, SPEOS, TracePro, and ZEMAX.

Advanced source model analysis tools enable full understanding of source performance

ProSource enables a developer or designer to interact with near-field source data in a variety of useful ways. To begin with, the user can determine source color and luminance characteristics from any point or sub-region within the source. The light source can be viewed from any angle, and animated videos can be created to help intuitively understand the spatial output characteristics of the light source. The user can also use ProSource to determine the origin of the global coordinate system in relationship to specific physical features of a light source, as well as to determine the relationship between source features. This level of detail in the RSM means that full information about the source is preserved, and that any anomalous source performance can be traced back to source physical characteristics.

Importance sampling generates better ray sets resulting in faster, better optical design

ProSource is also used to generate ray sets for export to optical design software with full control over the number of rays generated (from a few million rays for rough design to tens of millions of rays for final, detailed design), the angular range of the rays, the total luminous flux of the ray set, and ray origin. ProSource uses “importance sampling” to generate efficient ray sets, with results that are superior to traditional Monte Carlo methods for generating ray sets. By taking the full near-field data into account, importance sampling associates rays with meaningful source features, and so obtains the same accuracy in representing the source with only 1/5 the number of rays required with Monte Carlo methods. This reduction in the number of rays that must be analyzed allows faster processing in optical design software — saving time and allowing more options to be evaluated without sacrificing accuracy.

Looking to the future via support for color near-field models

Color RSM models measured using Radiant Imaging’s SIG systems can be directly analyzed in ProSource and a full color ray set generated for export to optical designs software. This provides significant advantages to optical designers in accurately modeling complex lighting systems. These color models are especially important for emerging LED lighting and display applications.