Patent ID: 8232721

Claim:
An optical apparatus, comprising: an electroluminescent apparatus, comprising: an OLED device comprising a layer stack comprising at least one light emitting layer, and a substrate comprising a first surface that contacts said layer stack, wherein said substrate is capable of at least partially transmitting light from said at least one light emitting layer and out from the OLED device to a target; and an index bridging elastomer disposed on a second surface of said substrate opposite to the first surface, said index bridging elastomer having a first surface that contacts the substrate, a second surface that forms an exterior surface of the electroluminescent apparatus, and a refractive index roughly matching that of at least one of said substrate and said target, wherein said index bridging elastomer comprises an elastomeric material and wherein the second surface of the index bridging elastomer is smooth; and the target, wherein the target is a lighting cover and wherein the second surface of said index bridging elastomer is contacted seamlessly with said target.