TRANSPARENT HYDROPHOBIC ARTICLE HAVING SELF-CLEANING AND LIQUID REPELLANT FEATURES AND METHOD OF FABRICATING SAME

• Main Author: ZHAO, YANG
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 06.03.2008
• Subjects: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES, OR VITREOUSENAMELS; CHEMISTRY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GLASS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS; LAYERED PRODUCTS; LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT ORNON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS,MINERALS OR SLAGS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TRANSPORTING

A transparent hydrophobic article having self-cleaning and liquid repellent features is disclosed. The article comprises a transparent substrate comprising a subwavelength structured surface including arrays of protuberances. Each protuberance has a predetermined distance to its adjacent neighbor and a predetermined height to minimize light diffraction and random scattering therethrough. The article further comprises a hydrophobic material disposed on the subwavelength structured surface. The hydrophobic material has a predetermined thickness and a predetermined hydrophobicity for self-cleaning and repelling from fluids thereon. La présente invention concerne un article hydrophobe transparent ayant des caractéristiques d'auto-nettoyage et de répulsion de liquide. L'article comprend un substrat transparent contenant une surface structurée à sous-longueur d'onde avec des réseaux de protubérances. Chaque protubérance est placée à une distance prédéterminée de son voisin et possède une hauteur prédéterminée pour réduire la diffraction de lumière et la diffusion aléatoire à travers elle. L'article comprend également un matériau hydrophobe disposé sur la surface structurée à sous-longueur d'onde. Le matériau hydrophobe possède une épaisseur prédéterminée et une hydrophobie prédéterminée pour l'auto-nettoyage et la répulsion des liquides.