Abstract
In this study, we mechanically strengthened a borosilicate glass wafer by doubling its bending strength and simultaneously enhancing its transparency using surface nanostructures for different applications including sensors, displays and panels. A fabrication method that combines dry and wet etching is used for surface nanostructure fabrication. Specifically, we improved the bending strength of plain borosilicate glass by 96% using these surface nanostructures on both sides. Besides bending strength improvement, a limited optical transmittance enhancement of 3% was also observed in the visible light wavelength region (400–800 nm). Both strength and transparency were improved by using surface nanostructures of 500 nm depth on both sides of the borosilicate glass without affecting its bulk properties or the glass manufacturing process. Moreover, we observed comparatively smaller fragments during the breaking of the nanostructured glass, which is indicative of strengthening. The range for the nanostructure depth is defined for different applications with which improvements of the strength and transparency of borosilicate glass substrate are obtained.
Highlights
Glass is frequently used in almost all branches of engineering because of its mechanical and optical properties
This study explores the application of surface nanostructures for both mechanical strength and optical transparency improvement of amorphous borosilicate glass substrates
Metal-assisted wet chemical etching was used for the silver nanoparticle deposition process, which acted as a mask for dry etching using ICP-RIE
Summary
Glass is frequently used in almost all branches of engineering because of its mechanical and optical properties. Glass is commonly used for optical pressure sensors, displays, photovoltaic (PV) and other optical systems because of its high transmittance and lightweight nature [1,2]. Glass is frequently used for chemical sensors, chemical glassware and biomedical applications because of its chemical inertness and biocompatibility [5,6]. Its strength is one of the most desirable mechanical properties for all of the above applications [3,7,8] and, improving the strength of glass has been a crucial area of study for decades. There is a long history of efforts to improve the strength of glass.
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