Heat treatable sputter-coated glass systems

• US 5,298,048 A
• Filed: 06/24/1993
• Issued: 03/29/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Guardian Glass LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Guardian Industries Corporation (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lingle, Philip J., Nalepka, Raymond, Hartig, Klaus W.
• Primary Examiner(s): LINDSAY JR, ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US08/080,787
• Time in Patent Office: 278 Days
• Field of Search: 65/60.2, 65/60.5, 65/60.4, 65/104, 428/216
• US Class Current: 65/60.2
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/36 at least one coating being a metal
• 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 17/3626 one layer at least containing a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3649 made of metals other than silver
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/366 Low-emissivity or solar control coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3681 the multilayer coating being used in glazing, e.g. windows or windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/78 Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/085 of iron group metals
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/086 of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/185 by cathodic sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/568 Transferring the substrates through a series of coating stations C23C14/562 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/58 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/5806 Thermal treatment
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/913 Material designed to be responsive to temperature, light, moisture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24975 No layer or component greater than 5 mils thick

Abstract

A heat treatable sputter-coated layer system for glass substrates may be applied before heat treatment if the layer system includes a metallic layer of nickel or a high nickel content alloy covered by a separate layer of metallic silicon or an oxide of nickel or the high nickel content alloy, which in turn is covered by a protective metal oxide such as stoichiometric Sn O₂.

Claims

1. A method of forming a heat treatable coated glass article comprising sputter-coating onto said glass in the sequence given from glass outwardly the following layers:

a) a first layer having a thickness of about 5-100Å and

comprised of an oxide or nitride of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel and a nickel alloy having at least about 50% by weight nickel;

b) a second layer having a thickness of about 20-250Å and

comprised of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel and a nickel alloy having at least about 50% by weight nickel;

c) a third layer having a thickness of about 5-100Å and

comprised of an oxide or nitride of a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel and a nickel alloy having at least about 50% by weight nickel; and

d) a fourth layer having a thickness of about 20-1000Å and

comprised of an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of tin, zinc, titanium and alloys thereof.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said method includes first sputter-coating onto said glass before said first layer, a fifth layer having a thickness of about 1-1000Å

and comprised of an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of tin, zinc, titanium and alloys thereof, and wherein the sputter-coating of each said oxide layer is conducted in an atmosphere sufficiently rich in oxygen so as to create substantially stoichiometric oxides.

3. A method according to claim 2 which further includes after applying said coating, subjecting said article to a heat treatment at a temperature of from about 1150°

F.-1450°

F.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein said heat treatment includes the step of tempering said glass.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein said heat treatment includes the step of bending of said glass.

6. A method according to claim 3 wherein said heat treatment includes the step of heat strengthening said glass.

7. A method according to claim 2 wherein said fifth and fourth layers consist essentially of tin oxide, said second layer consists essentially of an alloy having greater than about 70% of Ni by weight, and said first and third layers consist essentially of an oxide of the alloy of said second layer.

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said second layer consists essentially of an alloy comprised of Ni, Fe, Cr, C, Al and Y.

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein said second layer is an alloy consisting essentially of:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ ELEMENT Wt % ______________________________________ Ni about 75.45 Fe about 4.00 Cr about 16.00 C about .04 Al about 4.50 Y about 0.01 ______________________________________

10. A method of forming a coated, heat treated glass article comprising:

a) forming a substantially non-oxidized metallic layer (a) consisting essentially of nickel or an alloy having greater than about 50% by weight nickel and having a thickness of about 20-250Å

;

separately forming on layer (a) a layer (b) selected from metallic silicon or a metallic oxide or nitride wherein the metal in said oxide is nickel or an alloy having greater than about 50% by weight nickel and having a thickness of about 5-100Å

wherein said layer (b) tightly bonds layers (a) to layer (c);

c) separately forming on layer (b) said protective layer consisting of a substantially stoichiometric metallic oxide and having a thickness of about 20-1000Å

; and

thereafter heat treating said article.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein said method further includes initially forming on said glass article a layer (d) of the same oxide as layer (c) and having a thickness of about 1-1000Å

, and thereafter forming on layer (d) a layer (e) of the same oxide as layer (b) and having a thickness of about 5-100Å

such that layer (e) tightly bonds layer (a) to layer (d) and layer (d) tightly bonds layer (e) to said glass article, and wherein the metal in said layer (b) is nickel or a non-siliceous alloy having greater than about 50% by weight nickel.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein said heat treatment is selected from tempering, bending, heat strengthening, or combinations thereof, layers (c) and (d) consist essentially of stoichiometric tin oxide (Sn O₂) and the metal in layers (b) and (e) are the same metal as that of layer (a).

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein said glass article is a curved, vehicular privacy window, and said metal of layer (a) is an alloy which consists essentially of Ni, Fe, Cr, C, Al and Y.

14. A method according to claim 12 wherein said glass is green tinted float glass, said privacy window appearing neutral gray from the glass side, gold from the coating side, and having a solar transmission of about 13-14% and a solar reflectance of about 10%.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said layers are arranged in the following order from glass outwardly and have the following approximate range of thicknesses:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Layer Approx. Thickness (Angstroms) ______________________________________ d 1-1000 e 5-100 a 20-250 b 5-100 c 20-1000 ______________________________________

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein said layer (a) does not substantially alter the index of refraction of the glass.