Japan successfully developed anti-reflective resin

A new type of anti-reflective plastic has been successfully developed by a Japanese company based on the principle of operating caterpillar eyes.

Imuzak, an optical design company in Japan has successfully developed a special resin capable of reducing light reflection. When mounted on the windshield of the car, this plastic has the ability to reduce light reflection and anti-glare. This makes it easier for drivers to observe in strong light conditions.

Plastic resists light reflection.

Imuzak is currently cooperating with an automobile manufacturer in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan to soon commercialize products by 2020.

According to JapanToday, this plastic is inspired by the way the caterpillar's eyes work . Caterpillars allow light to pass through without being reflected. This impressive mechanism of action allows moths to evade enemies at night, especially on moonlit nights.

The caterpillar's eyes are composed of a dense net. They have the ability to absorb almost all the incoming light. The diameter of these grids is up to 100nm and the distance between light absorbing elements is 10nm.

When light is detected, the eyes of the butterflies will protrude to absorb all the light. Their height and spacing can reach 200nm.

Caterpillar eyes.

Based on this principle, Imuzak has developed a special metal mold that can shape protruding on polycarbonates (PC) with the same size as caterpillar eyes. This metal mold also allows the creation of a curved coating by changing the shape of the mold. Currently, the prototype size is only about 2.54 x 2.54cm. However, Imuzak is continuing to research to increase the size of the mold in the future.

There are now a number of technological solutions that prevent light reflection from plastic surfaces. For example, increase the size of the sun block of the signal board (taplo section is located in front of the driver's seat and is where the clock assemblies, signal lights, indoor units, air conditioning, etc.) are attached. Or many manufacturers also use anti-reflective film sheets attached to the car's plastic surface.

Light reaching the caterpillar's eyes is almost completely absorbed and only reflects a very small part.

Some high-end models even use AR (anti-reflective) coating technology to apply chemical liquids to prevent light reflection. However, these technologies have high production costs due to the process of surface finishing before semi-finished products.

New technology allows the creation of anti-reflective resins with existing metal molds. This eliminates complex additional processes such as finishing the surface machining, thereby greatly reducing production costs.

Hopefully Imuzak's intelligent anti-reflective plastic technology will soon be applied globally in the near future.