Method of making a temperable antiglare coating, and resulting products containing the same

• US 20090176107A1
• Filed: 01/08/2008
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guardian Glass LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Guardian Industries Corporation (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sharma, Pramod K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,114,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/428
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/02 with glass C03C17/34, C03C17/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/213 SiO2
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/214 Al2O3
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/23 Mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/732 made of a single layer
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/113 by sol-gel processes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/11 Anti-reflection coatings
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133502 Antiglare, refractive index matching layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02167 for solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A method of making an antiglare coating using a mullite sol, possibly for use in a plasma display device, a photovoltaic device, or the like. The method may include the following steps in certain example embodiments: forming a mullite sol by mixing glycycloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (or other suitable silane) with an aluminum chloride (or other suitable aluminum-containing compound), and one or more of a solvent and water; casting the mixture by spin coating to form a layer on a substrate (e.g., a glass substrate); and curing and/or heat treating the layer. This layer may make up all or only part of an antiglare coating.

Claims

1. A method of making an antiglare coating for use on a front surface of a display panel or photovoltaic device, the method comprising:

forming a mixture comprising silica and alumina by mixing at least glycycloxypropyltrimethoxysilane with aluminum chloride, a solvent, water, a chelating agent, and a wetting agent;

casting the mixture by spin coating to form a layer on a substrate; and

curing and heat treating the layer, and using the layer in at least part of a display panel or photovoltaic device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises glass, and wherein the mixture consists essentially of silica, alumina, solvent, water, the chelating agent and the wetting agent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent comprises ethanol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the chelating agent comprises ethyl aceto acetate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the wetting agent comprises a nonionic surfactant.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of casting occurs at least at 1000 rpm.

8. A plasma display panel comprising the antireflection coating made according to claim 1.

9. A photovoltaic device comprising the antireflection coating made according to claim 1.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising thermally tempering the glass substrate with the layer thereon, where the layer survives the tempering process without significant damage or degradation.

3. The method of claim 3, wherein the glass substrate comprises a soda-lime-silica glass including the following ingredients:

SiO₂, 67-75% by weight;

Na₂O, 10-20% by weight;

CaO, 5-15% by weight;

MgO, 0-7% by weight;

Al₂O₃, °

-5% by weight;

K₂O, 0-5% by weight;

Li₂O, 0-1.5% by weight; and

BaO, 0-1%, by weight.

11. A method of making an antiglare coating, the method comprising:

forming a mixture of silica and alumina by mixing at least a silane with aluminum, a solvent, and water;

casting the mixture by spin coating to form a layer on a glass substrate; and

curing and heat treating the layer, the layer making up at least part of the antiglare coating.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the glass substrate comprises a soda-lime-silica glass including the following ingredients:

SiO₂, 67-75% by weight;

Na₂O, 10-20% by weight;

CaO, 5-15% by weight;

MgO, 0-7% by weight;

Al₂O₃, O-5% by weight;

K₂O, 0-5% by weight;

Li₂O, 0-1.5% by weight; and

BaO, 0-1%, by weight.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the aluminum comprises aluminum chloride.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the silane comprises glycycloxypropyltrimethoxysilane.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the solvent comprises ethanol.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the mixture further comprises a chelating agent comprising ethylacetoacetate.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the mixture further comprises a wetting agent comprising a nonionic surfactant.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein a gloss of the antiglare coating at a gloss angle of 20°

is less than a gloss of an uncoated glass substrate.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein a gloss of the antiglare coating at a gloss angle of 60°

is less than a gloss of an uncoated glass substrate.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising thermally tempering the glass substrate with the layer thereon, where the layer survives the tempering process without significant damage or degradation.

21. A plasma display panel comprising:

a front glass;

a rear glass;

a reduced-pressure gas in the space between the front and rear glasses; and

an antiglare coating on the viewer-side of the front glass;

wherein antiglare coating comprises mullite.

22. The panel of claim 21, wherein the glass substrate with the antiglare coating thereon has been thermally tempered.