Hydro-oleophobic silica antireflective films with high laser-damage threshold

A simple method of preparing hydro-oleophobic anitreflective films with high laser-damage threshold is reported in this article. By adding fluoroalkylsilanes (FAS) into reactant mixture as a co-precursor, FAS modified SiO₂ was obtained under base catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethoxysilane. The dip-coating films were deposited on two sides of fused silica substrates.The experimental results on the effect of adding fluoroalkylsilanes (FAS) as a co-precursor on the hydro-oleophobicity and optical properties of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) based silica AR films, are reported. The hydro-oleophobicity of the films was tested by the contact angle measurements and the highest water contact angle of 136° and oil (peanut) contact angle of 93° were obtained. The surface chemical modification of the hydro-oleophobic films was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For the films based on FAS and TEOS, additional absorption bands at 1100 cm^?1 corresponding to C–F bond presented, clearly indicating the organic modification of the films. The highest optical transmittance of the hydro-oleophobic films was found to be 99.5%. By a Nd:YAG lasers the laser-damage threshold of as-deposited films was measured at 351 nm wavelength (1 ns). The laser-damage threshold was as high as 22.6 J/cm².