Methods and equipment for depositing hydrophilic coatings, and deposition technologies for thin films
First Claim
1. A method for depositing coatings onto substrates, the method comprising:
- a) providing a coater having a substrate transport system defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, wherein at least part of a lower sputtering target is mounted below the path of substrate travel;
b) positioning a glass sheet on the transport system and conveying the glass sheet along the path of substrate travel, such that the glass sheet is conveyed over the lower target; and
c) sputtering the lower target so as to deposit a desired film upon a bottom major surface of the glass sheet, the desired film having a refractive index of greater than 1.55, the desired film having an optical thickness of less than about 400 angstroms.
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Abstract
The invention provides certain embodiments that involve sputtering techniques for applying a mixed oxide film comprising silica and titania. In these embodiments, the techniques involve sputtering at least two targets in a common chamber (e.g., in a shared gaseous atmosphere). A first of these targets includes silicon, while a second of the targets includes titanium. Further, the invention provides embodiments involving a substrate bearing a hydrophilic coating, which can be deposited by sputtering or any other suitable thin film deposition technique. The invention also provides techniques and apparatuses useful for depositing a wide variety of coating types. For example, the invention provides thin film deposition technologies in which sputtering apparatuses or other thin film deposition apparatuses are employed.
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Citations
63 Claims
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1. A method for depositing coatings onto substrates, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater having a substrate transport system defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, wherein at least part of a lower sputtering target is mounted below the path of substrate travel;
b) positioning a glass sheet on the transport system and conveying the glass sheet along the path of substrate travel, such that the glass sheet is conveyed over the lower target; and
c) sputtering the lower target so as to deposit a desired film upon a bottom major surface of the glass sheet, the desired film having a refractive index of greater than 1.55, the desired film having an optical thickness of less than about 400 angstroms. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for sputter depositing hydrophilic coatings, the method comprising:
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a) providing a sputter deposition chamber in which there is mounted a first sputtering target having a first sputterable target material and a second sputtering target having a second sputterable target material, the deposition chamber containing a gaseous atmosphere, the first and second sputterable target materials being of different composition, the first sputterable target material comprising atoms of silicon, the second sputterable target material comprising atoms of titanium; and
b) providing a sheet-like substrate in the deposition chamber and sputtering the first and second targets such that a hydrophilic film is deposited upon a first major surface of the substrate, the hydrophilic film comprising atoms of silicon, titanium, and oxygen. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of processing glass sheets, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater having a substrate transport system defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the coater having a series of sputter deposition bays, wherein a desired pair of said bays are contiguous and are equipped with sputtering targets arranged in a desired configuration;
b) conveying a glass sheet along the path of substrate travel so as to move the glass sheet through a first of said desired pair of bays then through a second of said desired pair of bays, thereby conveying the glass sheet past a first target in said first bay, then past a second target in said first bay, then past a first target in said second bay, and then past a second target in said second bay, wherein the first target in said first bay comprises a first sputterable target material, the first sputterable target material comprising a first metal, wherein the second target in said first bay comprises a second sputterable target material, the second sputterable target material comprising a second metal, the first and second sputterable target materials being of different composition, wherein the first target in said second bay comprises a third sputterable target material, the third sputterable target material comprising said second metal, and wherein the second target in said second bay comprises a fourth sputterable target material, the fourth sputterable target material comprising said first metal, the third and fourth sputterable target materials being of different composition. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A method for depositing coatings upwardly onto substrates, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater having a substrate transport system defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the transport system including an intermediate transport roller, the intermediate transport roller being located between first and second coating deposition paths, the coater having first and second upward coating apparatuses mounted below the path of substrate travel, the first upward coating apparatus being adapted for emitting a different composition of coating material than the second upward coating apparatus;
b) positioning a glass sheet on the transport system and conveying the glass sheet along the path of substrate travel, such that the glass sheet is conveyed over the first and second upward coating apparatuses;
c) operating the first upward coating apparatus so as to emit a first flux of material upwardly along the first coating deposition path onto a bottom major surface of the glass sheet, thereby depositing a first partial coating on the bottom major surface of the glass sheet; and
c) operating the second upward coating apparatus so as to emit a second flux of material upwardly along the second coating deposition path onto the partially-coated bottom major surface of the glass sheet, wherein the first flux of material has a different composition than the second flux of material. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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Specification