Anti-reflection (AR) thin films composed of ordered arrays of tapered nanostructures on the surface of PMMA and silicon, through the hot-embossing nanoimprint of polymer using molds prepared from e-beam lithography and hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorod arrays. The use of PMMA and ZnO nanorod thin films allows the formation of anti-reflection structures on a curved or flat surface to effectively suppress the reflectance of the incident light. It provides a simple and low-cost means for large-scale use in the production of AR layers for improving optical and optoelectronic device performance, such as solar cells and photodetectors. A drastic reduction in the reflectivity of the AR layer over a broad spectral range was demonstrated. In addition, the great improvement on the light harvest efficiency of the solar cells by over 30% using the nanostructured AR layer was validated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.