Wire grid polarizer with silane protective coating

1. A wire grid polarizer (WGP) comprising:

ribs located over a surface of a transparent substrate, wherein the ribs are elongated and arranged in a substantially parallel array;

gaps between at least a portion of the ribs; and

a silane conformal-coating and a phosphonate conformal-coating located over the ribs, wherein the silane conformal-coating includes chemical formula (1), chemical formula (2), or combinations thereof, and the phosphonate conformal-coating includes chemical formula (3):

where: r is a positive integer; each R 1 independently is a hydrophobic group; each X and Z is a bond to the ribs; and each R 3 and R 5 are independently a chemical element or a group.

2. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein:

R 3 includes at least one of the following: H, R 1 , —Cl, —OCH 3 , OCOR 6 , —N(R 6 ) 2 , or —OH;

R 5 includes at least one of the following: R 1 , —Cl, —OR 6 , or —OCOR 6 ; and

each R 6 is independently an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof.

3. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein: each of the ribs includes a rod and a wire; the wire is reflective; the rod is absorptive; X is a bond to the rod; and Z is a bond to the wire.

4. The WGP of claim 3 , wherein: X is —O—Si; and Z is —O-Metal, where Metal is a metal atom.

5. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein each hydrophobic group is independently CF 3 (CF 2 ) n (CH 2 ) m , where n and m are integers within the boundaries of: 0≤n≤20 and 0≤m≤5.

6. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein each hydrophobic group is independently CF 3 (CF 2 ) n (CH 2 ) m , where n and m are integers within the boundaries of: 4≤n≤10 and 2≤m≤5.

7. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein the silane conformal-coating and the phosphonate conformal-coating are capable of keeping water on a surface of the ribs in a Cassie-Baxter state.

8. The WGP of claim 1 , wherein a water contact angle for water on the silane conformal-coating and the phosphonate conformal-coating is greater than 120°.

9. A wire grid polarizer (WGP) comprising:

ribs located over a surface of a transparent substrate, wherein the ribs are elongated and arranged in a substantially parallel array;

gaps between at least a portion of the ribs; and

a silane conformal-coating located over the ribs, wherein the silane conformal-coating includes chemical formula (1), chemical formula (2), or combinations thereof:

where: r is a positive integer; each R 1 independently is a hydrophobic group; each X is a bond to the ribs; and each R 3 is independently a chemical element or a group; and

the silane conformal-coating being a superhydrophobic surface, capable of keeping water on a surface of the ribs in a Cassie-Baxter state.

10. The WGP of claim 9 , wherein:

each R 3 is independently selected from the group consisting of: a silane-reactive-group, —H, —R 1 , X, and combinations thereof;

each silane-reactive-group is independently selected from the group consisting of: —Cl, —OCH 3 , —OCOR 6 , —N(R 6 ) 2 , —OH, and combinations thereof; and

each R 6 is independently an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof.

11. The WGP of claim 9 , further comprising a silicon dioxide conformal-coating, wherein the silicon dioxide conformal-coating: is located between the silane conformal-coating and the ribs; and has a thickness of between 0.1 nanometers and 5 nanometers.

12. The WGP of claim 9 , wherein each hydrophobic group is independently CF 3 (CF 2 ) n (CH 2 ) m , where n and m are integers within the boundaries of: 4≤n≤10 and 2≤m≤5.

13. A method of making a wire grid polarizer (WGP) with a protective coating, the method comprising:

providing a WGP with ribs located over a surface of a transparent substrate, wherein the ribs are elongated and arranged in a substantially parallel array;

exposing the WGP to a silane chemical, the silane chemical including Si(R 1 ) d (R 2 ) e (R 3 ) g where: d is 1, 2, or 3, e is 1, 2, or 3, g is 0, 1, or 2, and d+e+g=4; each R 1 is independently a hydrophobic group including a perfluorinated group with at least 1 carbon atom; R 2 is a silane-reactive-group; each silane-reactive-group is independently selected from: —Cl, —OR 6 , —OCOR 6 , —N(R 6 ) 2 , and —OH; each R 6 is independently an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof; and each R 3 , if any, is independently any chemical element or group.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising exposing the WGP to a phosphonate chemical, the phosphonate chemical including (R 1 ) i PO(R 4 ) j (R 5 ) k , where: i is 1 or 2, j is 1 or 2, k is 0 or 1, and i+j+k=3; R 4 is a phosphonate-reactive-group; each phosphonate-reactive-group is independently selected from: —Cl, —OR 6 , —OCOR 6 , and —OH; and each R 5 , if any, is independently any chemical element or group.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein each of the ribs includes a rod and a wire, the wire is reflective, and the rod is absorptive.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising plasma cleaning the WGP before applying the conformal-coating, wherein the plasma cleaning is performed at a temperature between 140° C. and 200° C.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising exposing the WGP to ultraviolet light before applying the conformal-coating.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein: each R 3 , if any, is independently hydrogen, an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof; and each R 5 , if any, is independently an alkyl group, an aryl group, or combinations thereof.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein exposing the WGP to the silane chemical is done by vapor-deposition.

20. The method of claim 13 , further comprising exposing the WGP to a gas before exposing the WGP to the chemical, wherein the gas includes water vapor and the water vapor has a pressure of less than 100 Torr.