Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) & Olympus have together developed a technology to create microscopic irregularities on a glass surface in the order of 100nm to micrometers. The two companies will develop the technology for use in making optical products such as mirrors & cover glasses, micro reactors, biochips, & nano-input & plastic molding stamps, without using semiconductor processing & metal molding. The technology uses a sharp tool to locally apply high pressure on a glass surface to create condensed layers. On immersion in a hydrofluoric acid solution, irregularities are created on the glass surface as the locally condensed layers are etched at different rates. Olympus & NSG aim to market the products resulting from the new technology in two years' time.
