ABSTRACT
Imaging optical systems have three main components—the object, the optic, and the image it forms. The light from each point on the object is captured by the optical system and concentrated onto a point in the image. Non-imaging optical systems, instead of an object, have a light source, and instead of an image, have a receiver. Instead of an image of the source, the optic produces a prescribed illuminance pattern on the receiver. To guarantee that the light coming from more points in the object is concentrated onto the corresponding points in the image, the systems become more complex. Instead, it suffices to require that the light rays coming from the edges of the source are transformed into rays going to the edges of the receiver.
