I-Corps: Liquid-Metal Optically Reflective Coatings for Deformable Mirrors

I-Corps项目的广泛影响/商业潜力可能包括任何需要镜像的应用程序。涂层技术降低了镜面的生产成本，并使镜面膜的涂层面积更大，表面种类更多。一些可能应用的例子包括用于发电或工业过程的太阳能热加热。在这些应用中使用镜子可以使用清洁的可再生能源。从这项研究中开发的技术是一种光学反射涂层，它使用的金属在室温下是液态的。这种金属是一种低毒性的镓基合金，可以喷到物体表面形成镜子。这种涂层技术比目前制造镜子的方法更简单，可以覆盖更大的表面和更多种类的材料。初步原型表明，液态金属镜面涂层比铝镜面涂层具有更高的光学反射率。这种液态金属的创新应用以及简单的涂层技术价格低廉，简单，并且可以使用移动涂层装置在现场应用，节省了时间和金钱。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project potentially includes any application that requires mirrors. The coating technology reduces mirror production costs and enables the coating of mirror films over a large area and an increased variety of surfaces. Some examples of possible applications include solar thermal heating for power generation or industrial processes. The use of mirrors in these applications enables the use of clean, renewable energy.The technology developed from this research is an an optically reflective coating using a metal that is liquid at room temperature. The metal is a low-toxicity gallium-based alloy that can be sprayed onto surfaces to form mirrors. The coating technique is simpler than current methods of manufacturing mirrors, allowing the coating of larger surfaces and the coating of a greater variety of materials. An initial prototype shows that the liquid-metal mirror coating has a higher optical reflectivity than that of aluminum. This innovative application of liquid metal along with the simple coating technique is inexpensive, simple, and can be applied on-site using mobile coating units, saving time and money.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.