Antiglare and antireflective coating of layer-by-layer SiO₂ and TiZrO₂ on surface-modified glass

Antiglare and antireflection materials take considerable research attention due to its important role in transparent optical materials for various purposes. In this study, we employed layer-by-layer coating materials consist of SiO₂ and TiZrO₂ deposited on etched-surface glass substrate using dual electron beam evaporator system. The surface morphology investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited the microstructure patterns of glass surface. The cross-sectional image of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed uniformly layer-by-layer coating materials with the thickness of ~20–80 nm. The Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) revealed the depth profiles of elemental composition of surface layer-by-layer coating, confirming the presence of elements of SiO₂ and TiZrO₂ layers. In addition, the layer-by-layer coated glass surface performed the hydrophobic properties with contact angle of 69°. The microstructure surface treatment and layer-by-layer coating have successfully decreased the reflectance (~3%) and increased the transmittance of the treated glass (~91%), opening the possibility for the applications of any optical devices.