Hierarchically ordered arrays based on solvent vapor annealed colloidal monolayers for antireflective coating

• A strategy is developed for fabrication of hierarchically ordered structures.
• Only two steps are required by colloidal self-assembly and solvent vapor annealing.
• The hierarchical structures show fine antireflection properties at 1100 nm–1800 nm.

A facile strategy for fabricating hierarchically micro- and nano-scale ordered features as antireflection coating is developed. Compared to conventional lithographic techniques, this process exhibits the advantages of low cost and high efficiency. Only two fabrication steps are required by combining colloidal crystal self-assembly with solvent vapor annealing at the air/water interface. These special hierarchically ordered arrays demonstrate fine structure-enhanced antireflection properties in the near-infrared spectral region ranging from 1100 nm to 1800 nm, which may be highly valuable for designing many optoelectronic devices.