I'm thinking of making some custom LEDs for a project with my interns.  
  Think of a custom 7-segment LED, except the segments won't be laid  
out in the standard 7-seg pattern, but will have other  
shapes/sizes/orientations.

I'm thinking the application PCB will have 0603 LEDs mounted on the  
top, and then we'd just cap the PCB with a custom plastic "housing"  
with the segment patterns cut into it.

We should have no problem making the plastic housings, with the  
patterns cut as windows, but we'd have to fill it with some type of  
diffused material.  I found LED encapsulation compounds, but I'm not  
clear on what specific parameters I should be looking for (for the  
encapsulation compound).  How and why should I choose different  
opacities, etc.  Do I have to completely fill the cavity, or just  
enough to cover the window.  Are deeper cavities better for more even  
light across the segment?  I'd prefer to have this info up front  
before contacting companies that sell this stuff.

Any leads to articles/webinars/books/tutorials etc that discuss this  
would be great.

Cheers,
-Neil.




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