FM-00001
TESTED 2011
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2 bar · 60° · 20 cm
First pass. Craft-store glass beads in PVA; the pane went fully opaque. The medium announced its terms.
THE ARCHIVE — THE 20,000 FORMULATIONS
20,000 Formulations.15 Years.One Vision.
The untold story of 19,700 failures and the 300 breakthroughs that created PrismPixel Glass™
SCROLL THE YEARS
ITHE TIMELINE
Sixteen calendar years. Fifteen years of work. Every node is a year of panes.
Red is what was scraped off. Gold is what stayed on the glass. Hover or touch a year to open its ledger; the ratio above each node is the cumulative success rate at that point in the journey.
FAILED BATCHES BREAKTHROUGHS
2011
BATCHES FM-00001 → FM-00420
The first pane went opaque on the first pass. Everything after that was learning what light refuses.
BATCHES THIS YEAR
420 sprayed · 420 scraped · 0 kept
PARTICLE TYPES TESTED
NANOPARTICLE CONCENTRATIONS
ADHESIVE FORMULATIONS
SPRAY PRESSURE
1.4–3.6 bar
CUMULATIVE TO 2011
420 tested · 420 failed · 0 breakthroughs
100.00% failure · 0.00% success
IIIN THE FOUNDER'S WORDS
Fifteen years, in his own voice.
The timeline above is the ledger. This is the person who kept it — written by him and no one else.
- The founder's words for each year are being set down. Nothing here will be written by anyone else.
Photograph of the shelf
not yet published
not yet published
IIITHE FORMULATION EXPLORER
Fifty representative batches, drawn from the twenty thousand.
Each card is a pane that was sprayed, dried, walked around and judged. Filter by verdict or by era.
VERDICT
ERA
SHOWING 50 OF 50
FAILURE
FM-00189
TESTED 2011
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 1.9 bar · 69° · 15 cm
PVA clouded within a week in 60% RH.
FM-00224
TESTED 2011
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 60° · 27 cm
Runs and sags at 30 cm; the binder never grabbed.
FM-00847
TESTED 2012
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.6 bar · 70° · 24 cm
Excessive hotspot, delamination risk.
FM-01054
TESTED 2012
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3.6 bar · 55° · 28 cm
Coating lifted whole when the pane was tilted.
FM-01062
TESTED 2012
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3.5 bar · 58° · 20 cm
Runs and sags at 30 cm; the binder never grabbed.
FM-01353
TESTED 2013
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3 bar · 63° · 29 cm
Colour shift toward warm; TiO₂ scatter too strong.
FM-01962
TESTED 2013
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.4 bar · 80° · 22 cm
The first image that survived a walk-around. Hotspot still there, but bounded.
MTF
0.41
EXTINCTION
71.0%
TRANSMIT.
29.0%
FM-02172
TESTED 2013
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 1.9 bar · 77° · 15 cm
Uneven build — 22 µm at centre, 9 µm at edges.
FM-02672
TESTED 2014
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 1.9 bar · 88° · 29 cm
Adhesion failure: crosshatch test graded 0B.
FM-02699
TESTED 2014
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.2 bar · 74° · 24 cm
Excessive hotspot, delamination risk.
FM-03197
TESTED 2014
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.6 bar · 84° · 27 cm
Nanoparticle agglomeration; visible speckle at 1 m.
FM-03455
TESTED 2015
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 90° · 28 cm
Flaked on thermal cycling, −10 °C to 60 °C.
FM-03586
TESTED 2015
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.2 bar · 74° · 25 cm
Flaked on thermal cycling, −10 °C to 60 °C.
FM-04414
TESTED 2015
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3 bar · 74° · 30 cm
Adhesion failure: crosshatch test graded 0B.
FM-05136
TESTED 2016
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.5 bar · 90° · 26 cm
Viewing cone 150° with no visible speckle at 1 m.
MTF
0.52
EXTINCTION
76.7%
TRANSMIT.
33.7%
FM-05330
TESTED 2016
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3 bar · 76° · 27 cm
Adhesion failure: crosshatch test graded 0B.
FM-06108
TESTED 2016
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 1.8 bar · 76° · 19 cm
Uneven build — 22 µm at centre, 9 µm at edges.
FM-06973
TESTED 2017
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3 bar · 77° · 28 cm
Adhesion failure: crosshatch test graded 0B.
FM-07084
TESTED 2017
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 77° · 30 cm
Uneven build — 22 µm at centre, 9 µm at edges.
FM-07462
TESTED 2017
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3.2 bar · 78° · 22 cm
Binder yellowed within 72 h under UV.
FM-08079
TESTED 2018
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.1 bar · 84° · 29 cm
Extinction 98.9%. Two batches later the binder lot changed.
MTF
0.53
EXTINCTION
82.0%
TRANSMIT.
35.5%
FM-08091
TESTED 2018
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.2 bar · 89° · 20 cm
Uneven build — 22 µm at centre, 9 µm at edges.
FM-08776
TESTED 2018
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3.2 bar · 83° · 24 cm
Moiré against a 4K pixel grid.
FM-09718
TESTED 2019
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 79° · 22 cm
Flaked on thermal cycling, −10 °C to 60 °C.
FM-09998
TESTED 2019
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 3.1 bar · 88° · 22 cm
Solvent attacked the previous layer; wrinkle across the field.
FM-10588
TESTED 2019
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.4 bar · 82° · 20 cm
Cure shrinkage cracked the film at 18 µm.
FM-11363
TESTED 2020
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.1 bar · 88° · 21 cm
Trace TiO₂ corrected the warm shift to neutral D65.
MTF
0.63
EXTINCTION
85.2%
TRANSMIT.
38.6%
FM-11431
TESTED 2020
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 87° · 24 cm
Bimodal ratio drifted; speckle returned at 2 m.
FM-11628
TESTED 2020
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 90° · 26 cm
Edge halo under off-axis projection at 35°.
FM-12752
TESTED 2021
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.9 bar · 87° · 25 cm
Transmittance and scatter balanced at a 15 µm build.
MTF
0.66
EXTINCTION
88.8%
TRANSMIT.
39.6%
FM-12926
TESTED 2021
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 90° · 19 cm
Trace TiO₂ overshot; D65 neutrality lost by 180 K.
FM-13210
TESTED 2021
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 89° · 18 cm
Bimodal ratio drifted; speckle returned at 2 m.
FM-14140
TESTED 2022
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.7 bar · 87° · 26 cm
Crosshatch adhesion 5B; survived 200 thermal cycles.
MTF
0.65
EXTINCTION
90.0%
TRANSMIT.
43.0%
FM-14219
TESTED 2022
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2 bar · 89° · 25 cm
Sol-gel cured glass-hard but clouded on the third day.
FM-15427
TESTED 2022
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.3 bar · 86° · 20 cm
Sol-gel cured glass-hard but clouded on the third day.
FM-15521
TESTED 2023
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.2 bar · 90° · 22 cm
Crosshatch adhesion 5B; survived 200 thermal cycles.
MTF
0.72
EXTINCTION
92.7%
TRANSMIT.
42.6%
FM-15819
TESTED 2023
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.4 bar · 89° · 22 cm
Edge halo under off-axis projection at 35°.
FM-16763
TESTED 2023
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 89° · 23 cm
Haze 4% over spec — binder lot variance.
FM-16873
TESTED 2024
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 89° · 24 cm
Trace TiO₂ corrected the warm shift to neutral D65.
MTF
0.71
EXTINCTION
93.5%
TRANSMIT.
45.8%
FM-16883
TESTED 2024
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.7 bar · 88° · 22 cm
Hotspot extinction stalled at 96.8%; the last 2% would not come.
FM-18066
TESTED 2024
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.3 bar · 89° · 22 cm
Sol-gel cured glass-hard but clouded on the third day.
FM-18478
TESTED 2025
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.5 bar · 90° · 22 cm
Bimodal SiO₂ flattened the gain curve; viewing cone widened to 120°.
MTF
0.76
EXTINCTION
95.6%
TRANSMIT.
47.8%
FM-19369
TESTED 2025
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.6 bar · 90° · 24 cm
First formulation to survive 1,000 h UV without yellowing.
MTF
0.75
EXTINCTION
96.5%
TRANSMIT.
47.1%
FM-19393
TESTED 2025
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.3 bar · 88° · 24 cm
Bimodal ratio drifted; speckle returned at 2 m.
FM-19665
TESTED 2026
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.8 bar · 90° · 22 cm
Extinction 98.9%. Two batches later the binder lot changed.
MTF
0.79
EXTINCTION
99.5%
TRANSMIT.
46.8%
FM-19745
TESTED 2026
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.7 bar · 88° · 22 cm
Image held from 3 m; hotspot bounded to a 6 cm disc.
MTF
0.78
EXTINCTION
98.3%
TRANSMIT.
46.9%
FM-19926
TESTED 2026
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.3 bar · 90° · 21 cm
Transmittance 51% but MTF fell below 0.7 — too little scatter.
FM-19983
TESTED 2026
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.4 bar · 90° · 22 cm
Seventeen batches from the end. Binder lot variance; haze 4% over spec. Scraped.
FM-20000
TESTED 2026
- PARTICLES
- NANO
- ADHESIVE
- SPRAY
- 2.4 bar · 90° · 22 cm
The window stayed a window. 48.2% transmittance, 99.3% hotspot extinction at a 15 µm build.
MTF
0.82
EXTINCTION
99.3%
TRANSMIT.
48.2%
IVTHE ONE THAT STAYED
FM-20000. The window stayed a window.
Nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine panes had been scraped back to clear glass. This one was not.
FM-20000
BREAKTHROUGH2026PARTICLE BREAKDOWN
SPRAY METHODOLOGY
- GUN
- HVLP, 1.3 mm tip
- PRESSURE
- 2.4 bar at the cap
- ANGLE
- 90° to the substrate
- DISTANCE
- 22 cm
- PASSES
- Three, cross-hatched, 40 min flash between
- DRY FILM
- 15 µm · 72 h ambient cure
0.82
MTF @ 10 LP/MM
99.3%
HOTSPOT EXTINCTION
48.2%
TRANSMITTANCE
1.8%
HAZE
160°
VIEWING CONE
“
To my son, Charlie, who is now fifteen years old: I want you and the world to know that the fourteen years I spent upon this, the eighteen-hour days, the seven days a week that were poured into this work—they were all for you.
— THE RESEARCHER, ON THE NIGHT OF FM-20000
VTHE CYCLE
Spray. Dry. Walk around. Evaluate. Scrape. Repeat.
There was no automation and no assistant. One gun, one rack, one projector, one razor. The cycle ran twenty thousand times.
- 1
Spray
HVLP gun, 1.3 mm tip. Three cross-hatched passes at arm's length.
- 2
Substrate
A pane of float glass, cleaned to a squeak and edge-lit.
- 3
Dry
Forty minutes on the rack. Flash-off, then a slow ambient cure.
- 4
Walk around
Projector on. A full circuit of the pane at one, two and three metres.
- 5
Evaluate
Hotspot, haze, speckle, colour shift, cone. A number for each; most were wrong.
- 6
Scrape
A steel razor and an hour. The pane returned to clear glass.
- ↺
Repeat
Adjust one variable. Only one. Begin again.
THE SUSPENSION
Nanoparticles, binder and solvent, swirled by hand before every batch.
THE SPRAY
One pass too wet and the film sagged; one too dry and it dusted.
THE RACK
Forty minutes of not touching it.
THE WALK-AROUND
The projector tells the truth from every angle at once.
THE SCRAPE
Nineteen thousand seven hundred times, back to glass.
VITHE LEDGER
What fifteen years cost, in numbers.
0
TOTAL FORMULATIONS TESTED
0
FAILURES — 98.5%
0
BREAKTHROUGHS — 1.5%
0
YEARS OF ITERATION
0
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHER
Countless
PARTICLE COMBINATIONS