Organic small molecule-based optical coatings

摘要

A small molecule is a low molecular weight organic compound which is by definition not a polymer. Therefore, physical vapor deposition by evaporation as common for inorganic oxides is often possible. Organic layers can be useful as components of interference stacks for different functions. A number of organic compounds have interesting UV absorption characteristics and can be used to protect UV-sensitive polymers such as polycarbonate. In addition, organic layers can be applied to generate nanostructured thin films with a very low effective refractive index, as shown recently for polymers. A structured organic single layer can be applied as an antireflective (AR) coating for a glass lens. The applicability of several small molecule compounds will be discussed in this paper.