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Title: Nanoporosity-induced superhydrophobicity and large antireflection in InSb

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4949266· OSTI ID:22591701
 [1];  [1]
  1. SUNAG Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751 005 (India)

A porous nanostructure evolves in InSb due to keV ion implantation which leads to superhydrophobic and large antireflective property, indicating a single-step facile fabrication to introduce both functionalities. In particular, it is observed that the contact angle of a water droplet on the nanoporous InSb surface exceeds 150°, revealing the transition to a superhydrophobic surface. Correlation between the contact angle and the porous nanostructures is qualitatively understood in light of the Cassie-Baxter model. It is found that a decrease in the fraction of solid surface wetted by the water droplet and a corresponding increase in the air-water interface fraction lead to the enhancement in the hydrophobicity. We further observe that the large broadband antireflection (in the range of 200–800 nm) is also correlated to the nanoporous structure, arising out of a large reduction in the refractive index due to its increasing porosity. Such a surface with the combination of superhydrophobicity and large antireflection can be very useful for applications of InSb nanostructures in electronic, photonic devices, or infrared detectors.

OSTI ID:
22591701
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 19; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English