The Institute of Optics

Nanomanufacturing of multifunctional surface

Dr. George Barbastathis, MIT

Sloan Auditorium

Using subwavelength-patterned dielectrics, we have designed and implemented a wide variety of wavefront manipulation elements.  The modulation, which may be periodic or aperiodic (chirped,) permits the realization of physical properties, such as refractive index profiles and molecular surface interactions that are not easily manufacturable in natural materials.  Hence, wide opportunities are presented for elements with unprecedented performance across domains (functions) beyond optics, with applications in imaging, telecommunications, and energy harvesting.  I will describe in detail one such example of an axial gradient for broadband omnidirectional anti-reflective coatings.  The same surface pattern also causes the surface to be come superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic (depending on the surfactant coating) thus enabling simultaneous control of reflectivity and surface wetting.