Scientists manipulate surfaces to make them invisible
Friday, October 21, 2016 - 08:31
in Physics & Chemistry
Most lenses, objectives, eyeglass lenses, and lasers come with an anti-reflective coating. Unfortunately, this coating works optimally only within a narrow wavelength range. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have now introduced an alternative technology. Instead of coating a surface, they manipulate the surface itself. By comparison with conventional procedures, this provides the desired anti-reflective effect across a wider wavelength range. But more than this, it largely increases the light transmittance through surfaces. In the future, the nanostructured surfaces may improve high-energy lasers as well as touchscreens and the output of solar modules.