Lichtlenkende

Lichtlenkende is a Dutch adjective describing objects or systems that direct, shape, or guide light. The term combines licht (light) with lenken (to steer). In practice, lichtlenkende components alter the path or distribution of light through principles such as refraction, reflection, diffraction, or confinement.

Common examples include lenses and prisms that bend light to form images; reflective and refractive elements used to shape beams; optical fibers and waveguides that confine light and transport it with minimal loss; and beam-steering devices such as galvo mirrors, spatial light modulators, or phased-array optics that actively direct light in desired directions. Meta-materials and diffractive optical elements can produce more complex light paths, including focusing, dispersing, or bending light in unusual ways.

In Dutch usage, lichtlenkende is a descriptive term rather than a standard technical category; it often appears in marketing or general descriptions of optical equipment to indicate that a component influences the light in a specified way, rather than referring to a single established technology. In academic contexts, more precise terms such as lensing, beam shaping, waveguiding, or optical steering are used.

Applications of lichtlenkende concepts range from photography and cinematography to telecommunications, sensing, and display technologies, wherever control of light direction, distribution, or confinement is important.