LIGHTING PANELS

Lighting panels and methods of manufacturing lighting panels are described. An example lighting panel includes a substrate 200 that has a planar surface, electrically conductive traces printed onto the planar surface of the substrate, and light sources 206, 208 mounted onto the electrically conductive traces at mounting positions such that the electrically conductive traces form an electrical interconnection between selected ones of the electrically conductive traces and associated ones of the light sources. The lighting panel also includes a polymer sheet 220 provided over the light sources, and a composite base 222 upon which a stack-up of the substrate with the printed electrically conductive traces, the light sources, and the polymer sheet is applied. The light sources 206, 208 are embedded into the composite base 222 and are also flush with a top surface of the stack-up, and portions 226, 228 of the substrate 200 are also embedded into the composite base underneath the light sources 206, 208 at the mounting positions.