Design of self-assembling micromirror arrays for light guiding applications

Abstract

We present the design and the potential of actuable micromirror arrays for light guiding applications on large areas. These micromirror arrays are intended to be implemented into the windows of buildings and to provide functionalities like daylight guiding into rooms, heat regulation, and glare protection. Placed between two panes of a window, these mirrors are maintenance-free and not subject to defilement. The use of micro system technology on large areas requires very low cost processes and materials, a concept with a minimum of process steps, as well as very easy and reliable process control. We present our design approaches and the corresponding technological results.

Topology Morphing Insulation: A Review of Technologies and Energy Performance in Dynamic Building Insulation

“…Radiation control through manipulating the exposed surface area has received considerable research. A range of solutions have been developed to achieve these objectives, such as blinds, shades, and awnings [130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143], mirrors [144,145], and rotating windows with PCMs [146]. These references provide valuable insights into the extensive research conducted in this field, and a more comprehensive understanding of the methods and techniques employed to control radiative heat transfer can be obtained by consulting additional sources [147][148][149][150][151][152].…”

“…Further examination reveals that among the materials used to actuate topology morphing insulation, such as air [79][80][81], bimetals [65,157,160], carbon nanotubes [184], metals (e.g., compliant micro-mirrors) [63,64,144,145], PCMs (expansion during phased change used to connect components) [66,142], and SMAs [59,69,84,104,109,134,160,163,164,181], among the most common are SMAs, PCMs, and metals. Using these materials as the form of actuation reflects the aforementioned issues around dynamic insulation materials.…”

“…It is likely that a range of different manufacturing processes will be required for topology morphing insulation. Topology morphing building insulation research has utilized a diverse array of materials, including insulation and actuation materials: acrylic [133], air [60,68,79,81,104], bimetals [181], glass fiber [132,159,160], metal [60,64,66,69,70,144,145,154,164,166], multi-layer insulation [161,163], PCMs [146], polyisocyanurate foam [60,100], polystyrene [57,131], and polyurethane [79,80,84]. Incorporating dynamic materials such as PCMs in certain approaches enhances the space-and time-varying capabilities of topology morphing insulation.…”

Review of microshutters for switchable glass

“…University of Kassel has been developing optical MEMS micromirrors for daylight steering. 24,25 They are a kind of microshutters with curling hinges and a flat micromirror [ Fig. 3(b)].…”

“…Microblinds were also compared with other switchable glass technologies in review papers 14,15 and market reports. [19][20][21] Several groups have worked on various versions of microshutters, namely NRC, 17 New Visual Media Group (NVMG), 22,23 University of Kassel, 24,25 Institut National d'Optique (INO), 26 University of Tokyo, 27 Samsung, 28 U.S. Air Force (USAF), 29 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 30,31 Microelectronic Center of North Carolina (MCNC), 32 Fiat, 33,34 and University of Stuttgart. 35 These groups used various versions of curling electrodes actuated by electrostatic forces for switchable glass applications (window, display, imaging, eyewear, etc.).…”