Reflectivity Reaches a New Low

sporkme writes "A new nanocoating material developed by a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has the lowest level of reflectivity ever seen ... or not seen in this case. The amount of light reflected by the composite of silica nanorods and aluminum nitride is almost the same amount reflected by air. From the article: 'Schubert and his coworkers have created a material with a refractive index of 1.05, which is extremely close to the refractive index of air and the lowest ever reported. Window glass, for comparison, has a refractive index of about 1.45. Using a technique called oblique angle deposition, the researchers deposited silica nanorods at an angle of precisely 45 degrees on top of a thin film of aluminum nitride, which is a semiconducting material used in advanced light-emitting diodes (LEDs). From the side, the films look much like the cross section of a piece of lawn turf with the blades slightly flattened.' Suggested applications include increased efficiency in solar cells, more energy-efficient lighting and advances in quantum mechanics."

For Energy-Efficient LIGHTING?

[drinkypoo]

How does reducing reflection increase the efficiency of LEDs? This stuff absorbs light. It seems to me like it would only be able to make things darker, not lighter. I'm willing to accept I just don't get it... but what is it that I don't get?

Re:For Energy-Efficient LIGHTING?

[XenoRyet]

I think the trick is that it's transparent, and non-reflective in the sense that nearly all the light goes through it unimpeded. As opposed to it being opaque, and non-reflective in the sense that all light gets absorbed.