Nanostructures on glass surfaces fabricated using HF gas-etching for reducing adhesion forces of dust particles

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8540, Japan
² Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
³ Innovative Technology Laboratories, AGC Inc., Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
⁴ Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 1 December 2025

Abstract

The formation of nanostructures on glass surfaces is an effective dust mitigation strategy for optical devices used in both terrestrial and space environments. This approach requires reducing dust particle adhesion while maintaining the excellent optical properties of the glass. In this study, nanostructures with varying surface roughness were successfully fabricated on glass substrates through hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas etching. Additionally, the adhesion forces between the glass surfaces and particles, as well as the transmittance of the glass, were experimentally evaluated. The results revealed a trade-off between reducing particle adhesion and increasing visible light transmittance. Furthermore, it was successfully demonstrated that both requirements could be reconciled by optimizing the processing temperature during HF gas etching.