Method for producing optical article with anti-reflective surface, and optical article with anti-reflective surface
AssigneeGlint Photonics, Inc.
InventorsPeter Kozodoy, John Lloyd
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods for forming optical articles with antireflective nanostructured (ARN) surfaces. An aluminum layer is deposited or otherwise applied to the cavity of an injection mold tool. Sequential chemical treatments such as anodization and etching steps form an ARN mold texture on the interior surface of the cavity. The ARN mold texture is a negative of a desired surface texture of the article. During injection molding, the desired ARN surface is thereby produced in the optical article.
Claims18
A method to produce an optical article with motheye antireflective nanostructured (ARN) surface comprising:
- providing a mold having a cavity defining a shape for the article, the cavity having a surface layer formed of aluminum;
- imparting an ARN-mold surface texture to the aluminum layer via a series of sequential chemical treatments involving anodization and etching of the aluminum layer to thereby produce a surface morphology comprising an array of pits;
- producing the ARN article by the further steps of
- injecting a transparent optical resin into the mold to fill the cavity;
- cooling the mold;
- and
- removing the formed article from the mold.
An antireflective article comprising:
- a motheye structure comprising an array of tapered nanostructured cone formed of a transparent optical resin, the cones formed by
- depositing a layer of high-purity aluminum onto an interior surface of a mold cavity;
- imparting a surface texture to the aluminum layer via a series of chemical treatments involving anodization and etching of the aluminum layer to thereby provide a surface morphology comprising an array of pits that correspond to a negative of the cones;
- injecting a transparent optical resin into the cavity;
- and
- cooling the mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.