Helbling accelerates development of optical solutions

The Zurich-based engineering and consulting firm Helbling has developed a device to measure light scattering on technical surfaces and inside materials. The so-called Goniometer allows Helbling specialists to conduct precise, time-efficient analysis, according to a technical article. It has already been successfully applied in many projects.

Being able to measure light scattering inside materials and on surfaces is important in areas such as indoor and outdoor illuminated displays and backlit display and control elements of devices and displays, to enable the uniform illumination of a surface using deliberate scattering. Scattering can also be disruptive, for example on the housing surfaces of highly sensitive sensors, but it is still important to measure the unwanted light scattering in order to optimize it.

Light scattering can be measured using the Bidirectional Scattering Distribution Function (BSDF), a mathematical description of the overall angular distribution of the scattered rays. Since this is very complex and theoretical, the experts at Helbing decided to determine the BSDF experimentally with their specially designed goniometer.

Thanks to the device, analysis and control data can be made available within minutes and at most within a few hours. The development engineers can then integrate these data directly into optical simulation software such as LightTools to characterize the optical system and improve desired parameters. This eliminates the need for experimental iterations and can significantly accelerate the development process of optics and sensor solutions, the technical article explains.