Method of making heat treated coated article using diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating and protective film including removal of protective film via blasting

• US 8,187,671 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2008
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Guardian Europe S.A.R.L.. (Interguard Holding Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Centre Luxembourgeois de Recherches pour le Verre et la Ceramique SA
• Inventors: Sol, Jean-Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Daniels, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Belyaev, Yana
• Application Number:
  US12/219,770
• Publication Number:
  US 20100021642A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 65 605- 608, 651/11, 651/14, 427/902, 427/154, 427/165, 427/164, 427/166, 427/249.7, 427/255.19
• US Class Current: 427/165
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3441 comprising carbon, a carbide or oxycarbide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/328 Partly or completely removing a coating
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/355 Temporary coating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 427/103 Diamond-like carbon coating, i.e. DLC

Abstract

There is provided a method of making a heat treated (HT) coated article to be used in shower door applications, window applications, or any other suitable applications where transparent coated articles are desired. For example, certain embodiments of this invention relate to a method of making a coated article including a step of heat treating a glass substrate coated with at least a layer of or including diamond-like carbon (DLC) and an overlying protective film thereon. In certain example embodiments, the protective film may be of or include both (a) an oxygen blocking or barrier layer, and (b) a release layer. Following and/or during heat treatment (e.g., thermal tempering, or the like) the protective film may be removed via blasting it off using particles mainly of material softer than the DLC. In certain example embodiments, the blasting particles may be of or include sodium bicarbonate and/or may be directed at the protective film at a blasting pressure of from about 2.5 to 7.0 bar, more preferably from about 3 to 4.5 bar. In certain example embodiments, the blasting particles may be soluble in water and/or may have a blasting residue which is basic (pH>7), so as to result in a more environmentally friendly process.

Claims

1. A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:

forming at least one layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) on a glass substrate;

forming a protective film on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising DLC, wherein the protective film comprises a layer comprising aluminum nitride and a layer comprising a metal oxide, the layer comprising a metal oxide located between the layer comprising aluminum nitride and the layer comprising DLC;

heat treating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising DLC, and during the heat treating a barrier layer comprising silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride is on the glass substrate so as to be located between at least the glass substrate and the layer comprising DLC, wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate to temperature(s) sufficient for thermal tempering, heat strengthening, and/or heat bending; and

after said heat treating, entirely or partially removing the protective film by blasting the protective film off of the glass substrate using at least blasting particles that are softer than the DLC, so that after said blasting the layer comprising DLC remains on the glass substrate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the blasting particles comprise sodium bicarbonate and/or glass beads.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the blasting particles are soluble in water.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the blasting particles result in a blasting residue having a pH greater than 7.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein no chemical solutions are used to remove the protective film.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein no etching is used to remove the protective film.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said blasting comprises directing the blasting particles at the protective film using a blasting pressure of from about 2.5 to 7.0 bar.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said blasting comprises directing the blasting particles at the protective film using a blasting pressure of from about 3.0 to 4.5 bar.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the protective film comprises at least one layer comprising zinc oxide.

10. The method of claim 1, the protective film include a release layer and an oxygen barrier layer, the release layer and the oxygen barrier layer being of different material and/or different stoichiometry relative to each other.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the oxygen barrier layer comprises zinc oxide.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the oxygen barrier layer comprises aluminum nitride.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the release layer comprises an oxide or suboxide of one or more of boron, titanium boride, magnesium and/or zinc.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the release layer comprises an oxide of Zn and/or Mg, and the oxygen barrier layer comprises zinc oxide and/or aluminum nitride.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the protective film comprises one or more layers and an uppermost layer of the protective film comprises one or more of zinc oxide, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, boron oxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum oxynitride, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and/or silicon oxynitride.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer comprising DLC is formed via an ion beam, and the protective film is formed via at least sputtering.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer comprising DLC comprises amorphous DLC and has more sp³ carbon-carbon bonds than sp² carbon-carbon bonds.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least 10 GPa.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein after said removing at least part of the layer comprising DLC is exposed so as to be an outermost layer of the coated article.

20. A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:

forming a coating on a glass substrate, wherein forming the coating comprises;

forming barrier layer comprising silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride on the glass substrate;

forming at least one layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) on the barrier layer; and

forming a protective film over at least the layer comprising DLC, wherein the protective film comprises a layer comprising aluminum nitride and a layer comprising a metal oxide, the layer comprising a metal oxide located between the layer comprising aluminum nitride and the layer comprising DLC;

heat treating the coated article so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising DLC, wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate to temperature(s) sufficient for thermal tempering, heat strengthening, and/or heat bending; and

after said heat treating, partially removing the coating by entirely or partially removing the protective film by blasting the protective film off of the glass substrate using at least blasting particles that are softer than the DLC, so that after said blasting the layer comprising DLC remains on the glass substrate.