Traditionally, various vacuum-based processes have been used for producing interference-type anti-reflection (AR) coatings on large area substrates for different commercial applications. In this paper, the development of sol-gel derived AR coating on large plastic substrates for display application is presented. The sol-gel dip coating process was used to deposit thin films on large size plastic panels. By developing solutions with different refractive indices, multi-layer thin-film AR coating stacks were designed and fabricated. Optical constants of the coating materials were characterized by using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Optical, mechanical and environmental tests were performed on the sol-gel derived AR coating stack. These coatings possess good uniformity and meet stringent automotive specifications. This technology has been commercialized successfully for dashboard instrument panel application in Toyota Prius, a new hybrid car. The sol-gel derived AR coating possesses equivalent or superior properties when compared to the major commercially available AR coating products. These AR coated panels are also useful for other commercial applications.
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