Glazing coated with at least one layer having thermochromic properties

• US 20020037421A1
• Filed: 05/23/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France (Compagnie De Saint-Gobain)
• Original Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France (Compagnie De Saint-Gobain)
• Inventors: Lerbet, Francois, Giron, Jean-Christophe, Beteille, Fabien, Arnaud, Alain
• Application Number:
  US09/862,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20020037421A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/472
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3417 all coatings being oxide coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3441 comprising carbon, a carbide or oxycarbide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3613 Coatings of type glass/inorganic compound/metal/inorganic compound/metal/other
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3615 Coatings of the type glass/metal/other inorganic layers, at least one layer being non-metallic
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3618 Coatings of type glass/inorganic compound/other inorganic layers, at least one layer being metallic
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3639 Multilayers containing at least two functional metal layers
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3644 the metal being silver
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/366 Low-emissivity or solar control coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3668 the multilayer coating having electrical properties
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3681 the multilayer coating being used in glazing, e.g. windows or windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/948 Layers comprising indium tin oxide [ITO]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31507 Of polycarbonate

Abstract

A glazing coated with at least one layer having thermochromic properties comprising vanadium oxide, and also with at least one other layer having thermal properties, such as an infrared reflecting layer, and/or at least one other layer having optical properties, such as antireflection in the visible, and/or electrical conduction properties; and having a particular application for making solar control glazing.

Claims

1. A glazing coated with (1) at least one layer having thermochromic properties and comprising vanadium oxide which is stoichiometric or substoichiometric in terms of oxygen, and (2) at least one other layer selected from the group consisting of layers having thermal properties, optical properties, electrical conduction properties, and a combination of at least two of said properties.

2. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) thermal properties, and wherein said properties are infrared-reflecting properties.

3. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) optical properties, and wherein said properties are antireflection properties in the visible.

4. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) thermal properties, and said layer(s) comprise at least one metal or metal alloy selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, nickel, chromium, steel, Inconel, wherein said metal or metal alloy is optionally partially nitrided.

5. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) thermal properties, and said layer(s) comprise at least one metal nitride selected from the group consisting of titanium nitride, niobium nitride, zirconium nitride, and chromium nitride.

6. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide is (are) modified so as to lower its (their) switch temperature T_S to a value below 60°

C.

7. The glazing according to claim 6, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide is (are) modified so as to lower its (their) switch temperature T_S to a value below 45°

C.

8. The glazing according to claim 7, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide is (are) modified so as to lower its (their) switch temperature T_S to a value between 25°

C. and 40°

C.

9. The glazing according to claim 6, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide additionally contain at least one dopant selected from the group consisting of halogens and metals.

10. The glazing according to claim 9, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide additionally contain at least one dopant selected from the group consisting of fluorine, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, iridium, and tungsten.

11. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide is (are) crystallized at least partially by a heat treatment or an ion bombardment.

12. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide comprises vanadium oxide which is substoichiometric in terms of oxygen.

13. The glazing according to claim 12, wherein said vanadium oxide which is substoichiometric in terms of oxygen has a formula VO_x where x<

2.

14. The glazing according to claim 13, wherein x is between 1.54 and 1.95.

15. The glazing according to claim 12, wherein the said at least one layer contains a vanadium-rich phase in which the vanadium is in oxidized form and a vanadium-lean phase in which the vanadium is in metallic form, and has a cermet structure.

16. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide is provided with a nucleation sublayer and/or a sublayer acting as a barrier to alkali metals.

17. The glazing according to claim 16, wherein the sublayer comprises SiO₂, SiON, SiOC, silicon nitride or zinc oxide.

18. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide has (have) a thickness of between 10 nm and 300 nm.

19. The glazing according to claim 18, wherein the thickness is between 30 nm and 100 nm.

20. The glazing according to claim 1, which contains one or more substrates, and wherein the layer(s) (1) and layer(s) (2) form part of a thin multilayer film deposited on the same face of at least one of the substrates.

21. The glazing according to claim 20, wherein the multilayer film has a structure selected from the group consisting of D₁/Ag/D₂, and D₁/Ag/D₂/Ag/D₃, where D₁, D₂, and D₃ are each a layer or a superposition of layers of dielectric, at least one of said layers being replaced with the thermochromic layer comprising vanadium oxide.

22. The glazing according to claim 21, wherein the multilayer film has a D₁/Ag/D₂/Ag/D₃ structure, where D₂ comprises at least one thermochromic layer comprising vanadium oxide.

23. The glazing according to claim 21, wherein the dielectric is at least one selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, nitrides, silicon oxides, silicon oxycarbides and silicon oxynitrides.

24. The glazing according to claim 23, wherein the metal oxides are selected from the group consisting of ZnO, TiO₂, SnO₂, Nb₂O₅ and Ta₂O₅, and the nitrides are selected from the group consisting of AlN and Si₃N₄.

25. The glazing according to claim 3, wherein the layer(s) (2) having optical properties comprises a dielectric that is at least one selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, nitrides, silicon oxides, silicon oxycarbides and silicon oxynitrides.

26. The glazing according to claim 25, wherein the metal oxides are selected from the group consisting of ZnO, TiO₂, SnO₂, Nb₂O₅ and Ta₂O₅, and the nitrides are selected from the group consisting of AlN and Si₃N₄.

27. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) electrical conduction properties.

28. The glazing according to claim 27, wherein aid layer(s) (2) comprises a metal or a transparent conducting oxide selected from the group consisting of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), doped zinc oxide and doped tin oxide.

29. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) electrical conduction properties, and wherein at least one of said layer(s) (2) is provided with connection means to an electrical supply.

30. The glazing according to claim 29, which contains a substrate, and wherein said at least one of said layer(s) (2) is placed on one face, and the layer(s) (1) having thermochromic properties on the other face, of the same substrate, or both on the same face of said substrate.

31. The glazing according to claim 1, which contains one or more substrates, and wherein the layer(s) (2) has (have) thermal properties, and wherein the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide are placed on one face, and the layer(s) (2) having thermal properties are placed on the other face, of the same substrate, or the layer(s) (1) comprising vanadium oxide are placed on one face of a first substrate and the layer(s) (2) having thermal properties are placed on one face of a second substrate.

32. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein it comprises one or more rigid or semi-rigid substrates.

33. The glazing according to claim 32, wherein the one or more rigid or semi-rigid substrates comprises a material selected from the group consisting of glass, polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

34. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein it comprises a monolithic glazing, a laminated glazing, an insulated double-glazing or an insulated triple-glazing.

35. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein it has solar control properties, with a reduction in its energy transmission Δ

T_E of at least 5%, a reduction in its light transmission Δ

T_L of at least 5%, and an increase in its light reflection Δ

R_L of at least 10%, when it goes from a temperature below the switch temperature T_S of the vanadium oxide to a temperature above said temperature T_S.

36. The glazing according to claim 1, wherein it has solar control properties with a T_L (cold)/T_E (hot) ratio of greater than or equal to 2, wherein T_L (cold) is the light transmission below the switch temperature T_S of the vanadium oxide and T_E (hot) is the energy transmission above said temperature T_S.

37. A process for obtaining the glazing according to claim 1, comprising vacuum depositing at least layer(s) (1).

38. The process according to claim 37, comprising vacuum depositing layer(s) (1) and layer(s) (2).

39. The process according to claim 38, wherein at least one of said layers vacuum deposited is vacuum deposited by sputtering.

40. A method comprising switching the at least one layer having thermochromic properties of the glazing according to claim 29 by said electrical supply.