Visual effect of a linear Fresnel lens illuminated with a directional backlight

A linear Fresnel lens illuminated by a directional backlight is studied. The light distribution on the lens surface visualized by a retina is simulated with a Monte Carlo ray-tracing technique, and the visualized display uniformity on the lens surface is found to depend critically on the lens quality as well as on the viewing position away from the light propagation axis. The effect of the light source configuration as well as the deviation of the microstructures of the Fresnel lens from ideal structure are studied. The simulation is verified with an experimental study, and good agreement between numerical and experimental results is obtained. Design guidelines are presented for a backlight-illuminated system to achieve high-quality uniform flat-panel two-dimensional and autostereoscopic displays.