Novel film inspired by moths

A revolutionary new antireflective, antiglare film has beeninspired from detailed research into the eye structure of nightflying moths.

Called Autoflex MARAG (motheye antireflective,antiglare), the new film has been designed for use in a widerange of applications, including flat panel displays, touchscreen interfaces, electroluminescent lamps and lenses for mobilephones and PDAs, and can even be processed using the film insertmoulding process.

Developed jointly by Autotype and theFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy in Germany, the newAutoflex film replicates the nanostructures found in the eyes ofmoths.

These compound eye structures have evolved to collect asmuch light as possible without reflection, in order to preventmoths being detected by night-time predators.

Manufactured byAutotype in the UK, using nanoreplication techniques, the newfilm is the first of its kind to combine both anti-reflective andanti-glare properties, with a hard-coat finish that is resistantto scratches, chemicals and fingerprints and which has anexceptional level of optical clarity.

The result is a tough,dimensionally stable and formable film that reflects less than 1%of visible light, regardless of viewing angle, and eliminates theproblems of iridescence and light flare that are often associatedwith conventional display materials.

Patty Yan, Product MarketingManager for Autotype, explains: "The demand forantireflection and antiglare films is growing steadily, in linewith the increasing use of high resolution colour devices inmobile phones, PDAs and other consumer and industrial equipment.The use of our new MARAG film to replace traditional multilayermaterials can bring significant improvements in the quality andperformance of displays.

In particular, we anticipate that MARAGwill be of benefit in small high resolution portable devices,where the combination of colour with mobility normally has anadverse affect on battery life.

Our films enable enhancedperceived brightness or reduced power consumption for any type ofLCD panel without sacrificing reproduction characteristics orview angle.

These new optical films allow users to view theirscreens more easily with minimal reflection even in brightconditions".

The new MARAG film can be produced by Autotypeon a number of substrate materials including PMMA, PC, PET andTAC for touch screen constructions, or to provide EMI shieldingin displays such as in-flight, in-car or nomadic systems.