Low Cost Sol-Gel Based Anti-Reflection Coating Technology

"Anti-reflective (AR) coatings with premium functions (e.g. conductive, anti-fog) are widely used. Applications include display screens, ophthalmic lenses, optical components, telecommunications, etc. Conventional multi-layered AR coatings now are made byhigh-cost vacuum processes. In Phase I, we successfully demonstrated the feasibility of unique low-cost sol-gel based wideband AR coatings, using spin and roll-coating processes. Two types of AR coatings were identified with great commercial potential.For display screens, combination sol-gel Ormosil/sputtered TiN systems have performance comparable to existing all-sputtered commercial products, at a significantly lower cost. Sol-gel Ormosils/titanium oxide AR systems for resin (ophthalmic) lenses andother applications exhibit qualities similar to the AR coatings deposited by sputtering. In Phase II, we will continue work on both systems. Development of sol-gel Ormosils/sputtered TiN AR coating systems on plastic films will be with an industrypartner. Sol-gel Ormosils/Titanium oxide AR coating systems will be optimized for ophthalmic lens applications, as well as for non-CRT display substrates, with another strategic partner. Work include (a) optimization to enhance physical adhesion,abrasion resistance, chemical durability; (b) integration of the spin coating and the web coating techniques into fabrication; c tuning of the process and chemistry; (d) full characterization o