High infrared reflection coatings and thin film coating deposition methods

• US 7,572,509 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2006
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardinal CG Company (Cardinal Glass Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cardinal CG Company (Cardinal Glass Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hartig, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Speer; Timothy M
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROBINSON, LAUREN E
• Application Number:
  US11/545,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20070082168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• Field of Search: 428/428, 428/432, 428/434
• US Class Current: 428/432
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/36 at least one coating being a metal
• 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 17/3639 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 2217/78 Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0036 Reactive sputtering
• 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: Y10T 428/231 Filled with gas other than air; or under vacuum

Abstract

The invention provides low-emissivity coatings that are highly reflective of infrared radiation. The coating includes three infrared-reflection film regions, which may each comprise silver.

Claims

1. A coated transparent pane having opposed first and second major surfaces, said coated pane being part of a multiple-pane insulating glazing unit that includes a second pane, wherein the insulating glazing unit has a between-pane space to which the second major surface of said coated pane is exposed, said second major surface bearing a low-emissivity coating that has both a sheet resistance of less than 3.0 Ω

/square and an emissivity of less than 0.025, said low-emissivity coating comprising three infrared-reflection film regions defined as first, second, and third infrared-reflection film regions, the first infrared-reflection film region being closer to said second major surface than is the second infrared-reflection film region, the third infrared-reflection film region being further from said second major surface than is the second infrared-reflection film region, wherein the three infrared-reflection film regions have a combined thickness of between 420 Å and

575 Å and

yet the glazing unit has a visible transmittance of greater than 0.60, the coating having a first reflection-region ratio defined as the thickness of the first infrared-reflection film region divided by the thickness of the second infrared-reflection film region, the coating having a second reflection-region ratio defined as the thickness of the second infrared-reflection film region divided by the thickness of the third infrared-reflection film region, both the first and second reflection-region ratios being less than 0.83, and at least one of the first and second reflection-region ratios being less than 0.80, such that the glazing unit has a visible-thermal efficiency ratio of greater than 2.3, the visible-thermal efficiency ratio being defined as the visible transmittance of the glazing unit divided by a solar heat gain coefficient of the glazing unit, the low-emissivity coating including transparent dielectric film between said second major surface and the first infrared-reflection film region, and wherein between the first infrared-reflection film region and said second major surface the coating has transparent dielectric film having a refractive index of 1.7 or greater.

2. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein between the first infrared-reflection film region and said second major surface the coating has less than 190 angstroms of transparent dielectric film having a refractive index of 1.7 or greater.

3. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the low-emissivity coating has a total thickness of greater than 1,800 angstroms.

4. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the low-emissivity coating has a total thickness of greater than 1,900 angstroms.

5. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein said emissivity is less than 0.02.

6. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein said emissivity is less than 0.015.

7. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein said sheet resistance is less than 2.5 Ω

/square.

8. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein said sheet resistance is less than 2.0 Ω

/square.

9. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the visible transmittance is greater than 0.65.

10. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the low-emissivity coating includes at least one nitride or oxynitride film having a thickness of less than 150 angstroms, and wherein the coating further includes at least one nitride or oxynitride film having a thickness of greater than 50 angstroms.

11. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the coated pane has a major dimension of at least one meter.

12. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein said second major surface is a #2 surface of the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit.

13. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein both panes of the multiple-pane insulating glazing unit are clear glass.

14. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the sheet resistance is less than 1.4 Ω

/square.

15. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the emissivity is less than 0.023.

16. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the solar heat gain coefficient is between 0.25 and 0.29.

17. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the coated pane has a transmission at 740 nm of less than 0.15.

18. The coated pane of claim 17 wherein the transmission at 740 nm is less than 0.05.

19. The coated pane of claim 1 wherein the thickness of at least one of the infrared-reflection film regions is greater than 175 Å

.