The Fabrication of Antireflective Coatings by the Self-assembly of Silica Nanopartical and Polycation Bilayers

Abstract

This study examines several factors that affect the quality of antireflective coatings created by the self-assembly of alternating layers of silica (Si02) nanoparticles and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) or poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PAH and PDDA respectively) polycation on glass substrates. We employ a factorial experimental design to investigate the effects of the molarity of the nanoparticle solution, the size of the nanoparticles, the pH of the Si02 and polycation solutions, the number of silica-polycation bilayers, and the significance of an RCA cleaning process on the optical properties of the films. We examine the first order effects of these factors, as well as their interactions, on the reflectance, transmittance and uniformity of the coatings.