Transparent substrates coated with a stack of thin layers having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in the solar radiation range

• US 5,965,246 A
• Filed: 06/03/1996
• Issued: 10/12/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Saint-Gobain Vitrage
• Original Assignee: Saint-Gobain Vitrage
• Inventors: Guiselin, Olivier, Rondeau, Veronique, Macquart, Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): TURNER, ARCHENE A
• Application Number:
  US08/660,176
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 428/432, 428/216, 428/336, 428/332, 428/212, 428/446, 428/697, 428/699, 428/701, 428/702, 428/433, 428/704, 359/580, 359/585
• US Class Current: 428/212
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3423 at least one of the coatings comprising a suboxide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3452 comprising a fluoride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/36 at least one coating being a metal
• 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 17/3621 one layer at least containing a fluoride
• 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 17/3652 the coating stack containing at least one sacrificial layer to protect the metal from oxidation
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/366 Low-emissivity or solar control coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/42 at least one coating of an organic material and at least one non-metal coating
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/734 comprising an alternation of high and low refractive indexes
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/26 Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component, the element or component having a specified physical dimension
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/265 1 mil or less

Abstract

The subject of the invention is a transparent substrate (1), in particular one made of glass, coated with a stack (7) of thin layers comprising at least one layer (4) having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in the solar radiation range, this layer (4) being interposed between a first and a second coating (3, 6) comprising a dielectric material. An interlayer (2) made of a material having a refractive index less than that of the substrate (1) is interposed between the substrate (1) and the stack (7) such that the difference in refractive indices between the substrate (1) and the layer (2) is at least 0.07 and preferably at least 0.12.

Claims

1. A transparent substrate provided with a stack of thin layers, having an emissivity of at most 0.044, a light transmission of at least 78% and a color saturation value C* of at most approximately 4 in reflection, comprising at least one layer having reflection properties in the infra-red or solar radiation range or both, interposed between a first and second coating comprising a dielectric material, wherein an interlayer comprising material having a refractive index less than that of the substrate is interposed between the substrate and the stack such that the difference in a refractive indices between the substrate and the interlayer is at least 0.07.

2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is glass, a rigid polymer with polyacrylic or polycarbonate, or a flexible polymer of polyester, polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate.

3. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the interlayer is inorganic and a geometric thickness of the interlayer is between 20 and 120 nm.

4. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the interlayer has a refractive index less than or equal to 1.45, and a geometric thickness of the interlayer is between 20 and 120 nm.

5. The substrate of claim 4, wherein the interlayer is deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

6. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the interlayer is deposited by sputtering or by pyrolysis.

7. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the interlayer is inorganic.

8. The substrate of claim 7, wherein the interlayer comprises organo-silicon polymers.

9. The substrate of claim 8, wherein the interlayer comprises floropolymers, monofunctional or polyfunctional acrylate polymers or a mixture thereof.

10. The substrate of claim 9, wherein the polyfunctional acrylate polymers comprise perfluoropolyether diacrylate.

11. The substrate of claim 8, wherein the interlayer is vacuum-deposited by evaporation of volatile monomers, or by atomization of liquid monomers into microdroplets, and then cross-linking by irradiation using ultraviolet or ion-beam radiation.

12. The substrate of claim 8, wherein the interlayer has a refractive index of less than or equal to 1.35 and is composed of a layer of SnO₂ or Si₃ N₄ or of Nb₂ O₅ /ZnO, or Ta₂ O₅ /ZnO or SnA₂ /Nb₂ O₅ /ZnO or WO₃ /ZnO or Sb₂ O₅ /ZnO or SnO₂ /ZnO sequence.

13. The substrate of claim 8, wherein the organo-silicon polymers are deposited by plasma-enhanced CVD.

14. The substrate of claim 7, wherein the organic interlayer is a film of at least 2 micrometers in thickness.

15. The substrate of claim 14, wherein the organic interlayer is a film of between 5 and 50 micrometers.

16. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the layer having reflection properties in the infrared or solar radiation range or both comprises silver and the substrate has low-emissivity properties.

17. The substrate of claim 16, wherein the layer has a thickness of 7 to 13 nm.

18. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the stack of layers includes layers having reflection properties in the infra-red or solar radiation range or both.

19. The substrate of claim 18, wherein the layers having reflection properties in the infrared or solar radiation range or both are interposed between layers of dielectric material.

20. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first dielectric coating includes at least one oxide or nitride layer having a refractive index of less than 1.7 to 1.8 with a total geometric thickness of between 30 and 50 nm.

21. The substrate of claim 20, wherein the first dielectric coating includes at least one layer of a material chosen from the group SnO₂, Nb₂ O₅, ZnO, TiO₂, Ta₂ O₅, Si₃ N₄, WO₃, Sb₂ O₅ and Bi₂ O₃.

22. The substrate of claim 21, wherein the second dielectric coating includes at least one oxide or nitride layer having a refractive index of at least 1.7 to 1.8, with a total geometric thickness of between 30 and 55 nm.

23. The substrate of claim 1, wherein a thin protective layer made of partially oxidized metal selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ta, Ti, Cr, Ni or alloys of at least two of these metals, having a thickness of from 0.2 to 1.5 nm, is arranged on the layer having reflection properties in the infrared or solar radiation range or both and below the second coating of dielectric material.

24. A low-emissivity or anti-solar multiple glazing, comprising at least one substrate of claim 1.

25. The low-emissivity double glazing of claim 24, having an emissivity of at most 0.044, a light transmission T_L of at least 78% and a color saturation value c* of at most approximately 4 in reflection.

26. A laminated glazing, comprising the substrate of claim 1, wherein power leads are provided to the metal layer(s) giving the glazing anti-solar or heating properties or both.

27. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the layer having reflection properties in the infrared or solar radiation range or both is metal or a doped metal oxide.

28. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the difference in refraction indices between the substrate and the interlayer is at least 0.12.

29. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the interlayer is inorganic and the geometric thickness of the interlayer is between 30 and 60 nm.

30. The substrate of claim 1, the interlayer is inorganic and the refractive index is less than or equal to 1.40.

31. The substrate of claim 30, wherein the interlayer is inorganic and the refractive index is between 1.30 and 1.38.

32. The substrate of claim 30, wherein the inorganic interlayer is an oxide or fluoride.

33. The substrate of claim 32, wherein the inorganic interlayer is silicon oxide of low density, aluminum oxifluoride, magnesium fluoride or aluminum fluoride.