2010/07/01 by Yoshihiko Nojima, Masayuki Okoshi, Hidetoshi Nojiri +1
Chemistry · Engineering · Medicine · #Abrasion (mechanical) #Analytical Chemistry (journal) #Chemistry #Chromatography #Composite material #Haze #Irradiation #Laser #Laser Material Processing Techniques #Layer (electronics) #Materials science #Ocular and Laser Science Research #Optics #Polycarbonate #Profilometer #Silicone #Surface Roughness and Optical Measurements #Surface finish
paper · doi:10.1143/jjap.49.072703
openalex publication_date 2010/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
A transparent, hard silica glass (SiO 2 ) layer was formed on a conventional protective coat made of silicone ([SiO(CH 3 ) 2 ] n ) on a polycarbonate plate by the 157 nm F 2 laser-induced photochemical modification of silicone into SiO 2 . An optimum laser irradiation time of the F 2 laser was found to form a crack-free SiO 2 layer. The high optical transparency of the samples in the visible light region remained unchanged after the F 2 laser irradiation. In the Taber abrasion test, the SiO 2 layer markedly reduced the number of scratches, resulting in a low haze value. The haze values of the samples also depend on the thickness of the silicone protective coat underneath the SiO 2 protective layer. As a result, the difference of haze value (δHz) was successfully reduced to 3.6%, compared with these of the nonirradiated sample and a bare polycarbonate plate of approximately 11.3 and 41.3%, respectively, which is comparable to the case of a bare silica glass of approximately 1.6%. In addition, the thickness of the SiO 2 protective layer was estimated to be approximately 0.44 µm for the 30-s laser irradiation by immersing the samples in 1 wt % hydrogen fluoride aqueous solution and measuring the depth using a surface profilometer.