Patent ID: 7352124

Claim:
An illumination system for emitting internally generated light and reflecting incident light, comprising: a light emitting diode having an active layer for emitting internally generated light and a reflecting layer for reflecting light; and a partially reflecting optical element, wherein said partially reflecting optical element is located in the light optical path of said internally generated light emitted from said light emitting diode, wherein said partially reflecting optical element transmits a first portion of said internally generated light, wherein said partially reflecting optical element reflects a second portion of said internally generated light back to said light emitting diode, where said second portion of said internally generated light is reflected by said reflecting layer of said light emitting diode, wherein said partially reflecting optical element transmits a first portion of said incident light to said light emitting diode, where said first portion of said incident light is reflected by said reflecting layer of said light emitting diode back to said partially reflecting optical element, wherein the reflectivity of said light emitting diode to said incident light is at least 70 percent, and wherein said partially reflecting optical element reflects a second portion of said incident light.