Antireflective structures via spin casting of polymer latex

Introducing nanosized pores can greatly reduce the refractive index of thin films. Thus antireflective structures can be fabricated by controlled assembly of nanoparticles to form a nanoporous layer. We report what we believe to be the first example of preparing antireflective coatings on glass slides by spin casting polymer latex. Optical transmittances at 550 nm of 95.7% for a single-sided coating and 99.5% for a double-sided coating were achieved. Structure investigations with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the antireflective coatings were highly porous and affected by spin speed and by the concentration and particle size of PMMA latex. Spin coating may be a better method for mass production, because of its convenience, low cost, and good reproducibility.