Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for generating a three-dimensional structure on a surface. The method comprises forming a layer comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a surface; and exposing a portion of the layer to incident radiation having a defined pattern at a dosage effective to aggregate the nanoparticles in the exposed portion of the layer into a three-dimensional structure, wherein the three-dimensional structure has a shape defined by the pattern of the radiation and a height defined by the dosage of the incident radiation and a thickness of the nanoparticle layer. Alternatively, the method comprises forming a layer comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a surface of a three-dimensional template; and exposing at least a portion of the layer to incident radiation at a dosage effective to aggregate the nanoparticles in the exposed portion of the layer into a three-dimensional structure that corresponds to the three-dimensional template.

Abstract: An anti-reflective layer solar cell/optical medium is provided by nanostructuring the surface of the optical material into which light transmission is desired. The surface of the optical material is etched through a nanoporous polymer film etch mask to transfer the porous pattern to the optical material. The resultant nanostructured layer is an optical metamaterial since it contains structural features much smaller than the wavelength of light and the presence of these structural features change the effective index of refraction by controlling the degree of porosity in the nanostructured layer and also by controlling the thickness of the porous layer.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for generating a three-dimensional structure on a surface. The method comprises forming a layer comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a surface; and exposing a portion of the layer to incident radiation having a defined pattern at a dosage effective to aggregate the nanoparticles in the exposed portion of the layer into a three-dimensional structure, wherein the three-dimensional structure has a shape defined by the pattern of the radiation and a height defined by the dosage of the incident radiation and a thickness of the nanoparticle layer. Alternatively, the method comprises forming a layer comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a surface of a three-dimensional template; and exposing at least a portion of the layer to incident radiation at a dosage effective to aggregate the nanoparticles in the exposed portion of the layer into a three-dimensional structure that corresponds to the three-dimensional template.