Commercially available single-component and composite microstructured films are supplied for testing by industry partners. Single component films are manufactured by compression molding of thermoplastic polymers (acrylic, polycarbonate, etc.) in a thickness down to 0.4 mm and are commonly used for the fabrication of large format optical components. Composite films, which consist of a UV-cured acrylic resin coated on a polyester substrate, are much thinner (0.1-0.25 mm) and mainly used as brightness enhancement films for liquid crystal displays. Unstructured films made of the same materials and with similar thickness are tested as well, to separately evaluate the effects of microstructuring on the results.

Our investigations focus on the optical properties of the products, which are responsible for the energy performance of the glazing, and on their suitability for the application as middle layer suspended inside an insulating glass unit.