I-Corps: Brochosome-Inspired Optical Coating Technology

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力涉及到使用以细鳞虫为灵感的涂料，用于光学、能源和可持续发展应用。支气管体是一种结构复杂的微小颗粒，由昆虫分泌，通常在它们的身体表面发现。建议的以扫帚为灵感的涂层技术可以集成到相机或传感设备中，以抑制杂散反射，并进一步提高传感器的灵敏度。此外，还可以将这种以珊瑚虫为灵感的涂层设计并整合到太阳能电池板上，以增强光学传输，从而改善太阳能的收集。这种减反射涂层还可以应用于玻璃和窗户表面，以提高建筑物的能源效率，此外，还可以作为一种对鸟类友好的涂层来减少鸟类碰撞，以实现环境的可持续发展。这个I-Corps项目是基于一种以扫帚为灵感的光学涂层，其特点是具有三维、分级的微和纳米结构，以抑制不同入射角度的紫外光到近红外光的反射。这项技术已经证明，这种由金枪鱼启发而成的涂层可以涂覆在不同的表面上，并且可以防止近红外线反射高达99%的紫外线。通过设计适用于各种光学应用的微结构和纳米结构的几何形状，可以量身定制该涂层的减反射性能。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commerical potential of this I-Corps project involves the use of brochosome-inspired coatings for optical, energy, and sustainability applications. Brochosomes are intricately structured microscopic granules secreted by insects and typically found on their body surface. The proposed brochosome-inspired coating technology could be integrated into camera or sensing devices to suppress stray reflections and to further enhance the sensor sensitivity. In addition, the brochosome-inspired coating could be engineered and incorporated onto solar panels to enhance optical transmission to improve solar energy harvesting. The antireflective coating could also be applied onto glass and window surfaces to improve energy efficiency of buildings, in addition to serving as a bird-friendly coating to reduce bird collisions for environmental sustainability. This I-Corps project is based on a brochosome-inspired optical coating characterized by three-dimensional, hierarchical micro- and nanostructures to suppress reflection from ultraviolet to near-infrared light at different incident angles. The proposed technology has demonstrated that brochosome-inspired coatings can be applied onto various surfaces and can prevent reflection of ultraviolet to near infrared light by as much as ~99%. The antireflective performances of the brochosomes-inspired coating can be tailored by engineering the geometries of the micro- and nanostructures suitable for various optical applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.