Anti-reflective coating materials for deep ultraviolet photolithography include one or more organic light-absorbing compounds incorporated into spin-on-glass materials. Suitable absorbing compounds are strongly absorbing over wavelength ranges around wavelengths such as 365 nm, 248 nm, and 193 nm that may be used in photolithography. A method of making absorbing spin-on-glass materials includes combining one or more organic absorbing compounds with alkoxysilane or halosilane reactants during synthesis of the spin-on-glass materials.