Electrically-conductive, light-attenuating antireflection coating

• US 5,407,733 A
• Filed: 09/03/1991
• Issued: 04/18/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tru Vue Inc. (Apogee Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Viratec Thin Films, Inc. (Apogee Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Steffenhagen, Debra, Austin, R. Russel, Bjornard, Erik J.
• Primary Examiner(s): TURNER, ARCHENE A
• Application Number:
  US07/753,714
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 428/698, 428/699, 428/701, 428/432, 428/216, 428/212, 359/359, 359/580, 359/586, 359/589
• US Class Current: 428/216
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/73 Anti-reflective coatings with specific characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/78 Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/116 including electrically conducting layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24942 including components having same physical characteristic in differing degree
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24975 No layer or component greater than 5 mils thick

Abstract

A coating for an article comprising layers of nitrides of certain transition metals to provide an electrically-conductive, light-attenuating, antireflection surface.

Claims

1. A coating for an article, comprising:

three layers, said layers being designated the first, second, and third layers, in numerical order, beginning with the layer furthest from the article;

said first layer including a transparent material having a refractive index less than about 1.52 and having an optical thickness of about one quarter wavelength at a wavelength between about 480 and 560 nm;

said second layer including a transparent material having a refractive index greater than the refractive index of said first layer and having an optical thickness less than the optical thickness of said first layer; and

said third layer including a transition metal nitride and having a thickness between about 5 and 15 nm; and

wherein

said coating is electrically conductive and light attenuating, and has a photopic reflection less than about 0.25 percent.

2. The coating of claim 1 wherein said second layer has a refractive index between about 1.9 and 2.65.

3. The coating of claim 1 wherein said first layer includes silicon dioxide and said second layer includes titanium dioxide.

4. The coating of claim 1 wherein any of said layers of transparent material includes at least two sub-layers optically equivalent thereto.

5. The coating of claim 1 further including at least one adhesion layer between said first and second layers, and between said third layer and the article.

6. A coating for an article, comprising:

four layers, said layers being designated the first, second, third, and fourth layers in numerical order, beginning with the layer farthest from the article;

said first layer having a refractive index less than about 1.52 and having an optical thickness of about one-quarter wavelength at a wavelength between about 480 and 560 nm;

said second layer having a refractive index greater than the refractive index of said first layer and having an optical thickness less than the optical thickness of said first layer;

said third layer including a first transition metal nitride;

said fourth layer including a second transition metal nitride; and

said third and fourth layers having a combined thickness between about 5 and 15 nm; and

wherein

said coating is electrically conductive and light attenuating, and has a photopic reflection less than about 0.25 percent.

7. The coating of claim 6 wherein any one of said layers of transparent material includes at least two sub-layers.

8. A coating for an article, comprising:

three layers, said layers being designated the first, second and third layers, in numerical order, beginning with the layer furthest from the article;

said first layer including silicon dioxide and having a thickness of about 84.0 nanometers;

said second layer including titanium dioxide and having a thickness of about 37.5 nanometers; and

said third layer including niobium nitride and having a thickness of about 7.8 nanometers; and

wherein

said coating is electrically conductive and light attenuating, and has a photopic reflection less than about 0.25 percent.

9. A coated article, comprising:

a substrate having on a surface thereof a coating including three layers;

said layers being designated the first, second and third layers, in numerical order, beginning with the layer furthest from said substrate;

said first layer having a refractive index less than about 1.52 and having an optical thickness of about one-quarter wavelength at a wavelength between about 480 and 560 nm;

said second layer having a refractive index between about 1.9 and 2.65 and having an optical thickness less than the optical thickness of said first layer; and

said third layer including a transition metal nitride and having a thickness between about 5 and 15 nm; and

wherein

said coating is electrically conductive and light attenuating, and has a photopic reflection less than about 0.25 percent.

10. The coated article of claim 9 further including an anti-reflection treatment on a second surface of said substrate.

11. The coated article of claim 10 wherein said antireflection treatment includes a layer of a transition metal nitride having an optical thickness between about 5 and 10 nm.

12. A coated article, comprising:

a substrate having on a surface thereof a coating including four layers;

said layers being designated the first, second, third, and fourth layers, in numerical order, beginning with the layer furthest from the substrate;

said first layer having a refractive index less than about 1.52 and having an optical thickness of about one-quarter wavelength at a wavelength between about 480 and 560 nm;

said second layer having a refractive index greater than the refractive index of said first layer and having an optical thickness less than the optical thickness of said first layer;

said third layer including a first transition metal nitride;

said fourth layer including a second transition metal nitride;

said third and fourth layers having a combined thickness between about 5 and 15 nm; and

said first transition metal nitride having a refractive index (n) and an extinction coefficient (k) greater than about 2.0, and said second transition metal nitride having a refractive index (n) an extinction coefficient (k) less than about 2.0.

13. The article of claim 12 wherein said first layer includes silicon dioxide and has a thickness of about 84 nanometers;

said second layer includes titanium dioxide and has a thickness of about 33 nanometers;

said third layer includes niobium nitride and has a thickness of about 4.5 nanometers; and

said fourth layer includes titanium nitride and has a thickness of about 6.7 nm.

14. The article of claim 12 further including an anti-reflection treatment on a second surface of said substrate.

15. The article of claim 14 wherein said anti-reflection treatment includes a layer of a transition metal nitride having a thickness between about 5 and 10 nm.

16. A coating for an article, comprising:

four layers, said layers being designated the first, second, third, and fourth layers in numerical order, beginning with the layer farthest from the article;

said first layer having a refractive index less than about 1.52 and having an optical thickness of about one-quarter wavelength at a wavelength between about 480 and 560 nanometers;

said second layer having a refractive index greater than the refractive index of said first layer and having an optical thickness less than the optical thickness of said first layer;

said third layer including a first transition metal nitride having a refractive index greater than about 2.0 and an extinction coefficient greater than about 2.0;

said fourth layer including a second transition metal nitride having a refractive index less than about 2.0 and an extinction coefficient less than about 2.0; and

said third and fourth layers having a combined thickness between about 5 and 15 nanometers.

17. The coating of claim 16 wherein said second transition metal nitride is titanium nitride.

18. The coating of claim 17 wherein said first transition metal nitride is niobium nitride.

19. The coating of claim 18 wherein said first layer includes silicon dioxide.

20. The coating of claim 19 wherein said second layer includes titanium dioxide.