Patent ID: 8162526

Claim:
A system, comprising: a panel having an edge, the edge having a thickness defined between a front surface of the panel and a back surface of the panel and having a length measured along the edge in a direction perpendicular to a direction of the thickness, wherein the panel is configured to propagate light therein; and a light emitting diode (LED) light source comprising a light emitting device die, the light emitting device die having a rectangular upper surface through which light is emitted, the upper surface having a long edge, a short edge, and an aspect ratio of the long edge to the short edge of at least 1.5, the upper surface disposed relative to the edge of the panel such that light emitted through the upper surface impinges on the edge of the panel and enters the panel through the edge; and wherein the light emitting device die comprises a pattern of openings in at least the upper surface, the pattern of openings creating a dielectric function that varies spatially according to the pattern, the pattern of openings being configured such that the light that is emitted through the upper surface is more collimated than a Lambertian distribution; and wherein the long edge of the light emitting device die is parallel to the length direction of the edge of the panel, the short edge of the light emitted device die is parallel to a thickness direction of the edge of the panel, and a ratio of a length of the short edge of the LED light source to the thickness of the edge of the panel ranges from 0.5 to 1.1.