Why Traditional AR Coatings Are Failing – And What Comes Next
In a world filled with screens, optics, and light-dependent devices, the clarity and quality of what we see through glass has never been more important. Whether it’s your smartphone, your car dashboard, or a high-end microscope, optical performance can make or break the user experience. A key element in this performance is how glass handles light — and specifically, how it reduces reflection. For decades, the answer to this problem has been anti-reflective (AR) coatings and etching techniques. But as technology advances and demands increase, these traditional solutions are starting to show their limits.
The Problem with Traditional AR Coatings
Anti-reflective coatings are typically made up of one or more thin-film layers deposited onto the surface of the glass. These layers are designed to manipulate light behavior at the interface, reducing the amount of light that gets reflected. While effective to a degree, these coatings come with several drawbacks:
- Peeling & Degradation: AR coatings are prone to exfoliation under temperature changes, humidity, or mechanical wear.
- Chemical Vulnerability: They often require chemical primers or treatments that can introduce fragility or environmental concerns.
- Complex Fabrication: Multi-step coating processes are time-consuming, require expensive consumables, and must be performed in cleanroom environments.
- Limited Durability: Coatings can wear off over time, especially in high-use applications like touchscreens, lenses, or industrial devices.
Etching, on the other hand, physically alters the surface of the glass to achieve similar effects, but it too relies on reactive chemicals or plasma and lacks long-term abrasion resistance.
The Glare Effect: More Than Just Annoying
Glare is more than just a visual inconvenience. It causes:
- Reduced visibility in high-light environments
- Eye strain for users of screens and glasses
- Impaired accuracy in scientific and industrial instruments
- Diminished aesthetics and performance in high-end devices
In technical terms, glare stems from the partial reflection of incident light on glass surfaces. Even a few percentage points of reflectance can significantly degrade image clarity and precision.
Introducing Laser Nanotexturing: A Natural-Inspired Alternative
At Biomimetic, we’re developing a radical new approach — laser nanotexturing — that eliminates the need for coatings or etching altogether.
This one-step, laser-based process creates nanoscale surface textures directly on the glass, using a combination of material melting and self-organization phenomena. The result? A 2D array of nanometric pillars that mimics natural anti-reflective surfaces like those found on butterfly wings and cicada wings.
Why It’s Better:
- ✅ No coatings, no chemicals – Just laser precision
- ✅ Permanent AR effect – The texture is formed on the glass surface itself
- ✅ High optical performance – Up to 96% transmittance and only 1.3% reflectance for a single side AR
- ✅ Enhanced durability – Environmental factors
- ✅ Eco-friendly – Reduces material waste and chemical use
Use Cases: From Everyday Devices to High-Tech Tools
The potential applications of laser nanotextured glass are vast:
- Consumer Electronics: Smartphones, tablets, laptops — better screens, less eye strain
- Eyewear & Lenses: Glasses with long-lasting anti-glare protection
- Automotive Displays: Dashboards and HUDs with improved visibility in bright light
- Scientific Instruments: Microscopes, telescopes, and precision optics with superior accuracy
- Medical Devices: Cleaner, clearer visualization in critical procedures
Looking Ahead
The limitations of traditional AR coatings are becoming more apparent — and the demand for next-generation optical materials is growing. Laser nanotexturing isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a paradigm shift. Inspired by nature and powered by innovation, this technology opens the door to a new standard in clarity, durability, and sustainability.
👁 Ready to see the difference?