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Title: Design Rules for Tailoring Antireflection Properties of Hierarchical Optical Structures

Journal Article · · Advanced Optical Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA 94551 USA

Hierarchical structures consisting of small sub-wavelength features stacked atop larger structures have been demonstrated as an effective means of reducing the reflectance of surfaces. However, optical devices require different antireflective properties depending on the application, and general unifying guidelines on hierarchical structures' design to attain a desired antireflection spectral response are still lacking. The type of reflectivity (diffuse, specular, or total/hemispherical) and its angular- and spectral-dependence are all dictated by the structural parameters. Through computational and experimental studies, guidelines have been devised to modify these various aspects of reflectivity across the solar spectrum by proper selection of the features of hierarchical structures. In this wavelength regime, micrometer-scale substructures dictate the long-wavelength spectral response and effectively reduce specular reflectance, whereas nanometer-scale substructures dictate primarily the visible wavelength spectral response and reduce diffuse reflectance. Coupling structures having these two length scales into hierarchical arrays impressively reduces surfaces' hemispherical reflectance across a broad spectrum of wavelengths and angles. Furthermore, such hierarchical structures in silicon are demonstrated having an average total reflectance across the solar spectrum of 1.1% (average weighted reflectance of 1% in the 280–2500 nm range of the AM 1.5 G spectrum) and specular reflectance <1% even at angles of incidence as high as 67°.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; DE‐AC52‐07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1404830
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1395596
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-713005
Journal Information:
Advanced Optical Materials, Vol. 5, Issue 13; ISSN 2195-1071
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (1)