Self-Assembling Process for Fabricating Tailored Thin Films
Creating a self-assembling process for fabricating tailored thin films involved
the development of a simple, soft coating process that forms optical, electrical,
and magnetic thin films from self-assembled nanoparticles. The researchers -Hongyou
Fan, Bruce Burckel, and Jeff Brinker from Sandia and Earl Stromberg of Lockheed
Martin Aeronautics - developed a wet-solution-based process that uses
self-assembly to create nanocomposite thin films. The properties of these films
can easily be tuned by varying particle composition, sizes, shapes, packing
density, and geometry.
For example, a film's index of refraction can be tuned by changing its nanoparticle
composition, concentration, or both to exactly match a surface's required index
of refraction. So an antireflective coating can be optimized for both optical
glasses and high-index substrates, such as germanium windows. In addition, the
Sandia-developed process makes it possible to engineer thin films with multiple
functions. For instance, nanoparticle optical films can be made hydrophobic
to avoid fogging and icing problems.
Run time 2.42 mins
