Formation of antireflective nanostructures on melamine and N,N´-di (1-naphthyl)-N,N´-diphenyl benzidine (NPB)

Plasma-etched nanostructures are useful to provide antireflective properties to glass and plastic substrates. Organic compounds were deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation and etched by plasma emitted from an ion plasma source. A self-organized formation of surface structures takes place during etching of a layer of 1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triamine (melamine). On the other hand, the surface of N,N´-di(1-naphthyl)-N,N´-diphenyl benzidine (NPB) remained smooth after etching. In this case, the structure formation was initiated by depositing a thin oxide layer on to the organic layer prior to the etching step. For both materials the etching process can be tailored to achieve antireflective properties over a desired wavelength range.