Low-color scratch-resistant articles with a multilayer optical film

• US 9,079,802 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Bellman, Robert Alan, Hart, Shandon Dee, Koch, Karl William III, Paulson, Charles Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Austin, Aaron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yang, Zheren J
• Application Number:
  US14/331,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20140335332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/734 comprising an alternation of high and low refractive indexes
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/78 Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/58 based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides containing free binder metal C22C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/597 based on silicon oxynitride, e.g. SIALONS
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/10 Optical coatings produced by application to, or surface treatment of, optical elements G02B1/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/11 Anti-reflection coatings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/113 using inorganic layer materials only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/115 Multilayers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/14 Protective coatings, e.g. hard coatings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24942 including components having same physical characteristic in differing degree
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249921 Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/265 1 mil or less

Abstract

Embodiments of this disclosure pertain to articles exhibiting scratch-resistance and improved optical properties. In some examples, the article exhibits a color shift of about 2 or less, when viewed at an incident illumination angle from about 0 degrees to about 60 degrees from normal under an illuminant, and hardness of at least 14 GPa at an indentation depth of at least 100 nm from the surface of the article. In one or more embodiments, the articles include a substrate, and an optical film disposed on the substrate. The optical film includes a scratch-resistant layer and an optical interference layer. The optical interference layer may include one or more sub-layers that exhibit different refractive indices. In one example, the optical interference layer includes a first low refractive index sub-layer and a second a second high refractive index sub-layer. In some instances, the optical interference layer may include a third sub-layer.

Claims

1. An article comprising:

a substrate having a surface and comprising a glass, a glass-ceramic, or single-crystal sapphire; and

an optical film disposed on the substrate surface forming a coated surface, the optical film comprising a scratch-resistant layer and an optical interference layer disposed between the scratch-resistant layer and the substrate;

wherein the article comprises a hardness of about 14 GPa or greater, as measured by indenting the coated surface with a Berkovitch indenter to form an indent having an indentation depth of at least about 100 nm from the surface of the coated surface, and

wherein the article comprises an average transmission of 85% or greater; and

wherein the article comprises a color shift of about 2 or less, when viewed at an incident illumination angle in the range from about 2 degrees to about 60 degrees from normal incidence, under an International Commission on Illumination illuminant selected from the group consisting of A series illuminants, B series illuminants, C series illuminants, D series illuminants, and F series illuminants,

wherein color shift is calculated using the equation √

((a*₂-a*₁)²+(b*₂-b*₁)²), with a*₁, and b*₁ representing the coordinates of the article when viewed at normal incidence and a*₂, and b*₂ representing the coordinates of the article when viewed at the incident illumination angle.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the optical interference layer comprises a first low refractive index RI sub-layer and a second high RI sub-layer.

3. The article of claim 2, wherein the difference between the refractive index of the first low RI sub-layer and the refractive index of the second high RI sub-layer is about 0.01 or greater.

4. The article of claim 1, wherein the optical interference layer comprises a plurality of sub-layer sets, the plurality of sub-layer sets comprising a first low RI sub-layer and a second high RI sub-layer.

5. The article of claim 4, wherein the optical interference layer further comprises a third sub-layer disposed between at least one of:

the plurality of sub-layer sets and the scratch-resistant layer; and

the substrate and the plurality of sub-layer sets, and

wherein the third sub-layer has a RI between the refractive index of the first low RI sub-layer and the refractive index of the second high RI sub-layer.

6. The article of claim 4, wherein the optical interference film comprises up to about 10 sub-layer sets.

7. The article of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first low RI sub-layer and the second high RI sub-layer comprises an optical thickness (n*d) in the range from about 2 nm to about 200 nm.

8. The article of claim 1, wherein the optical interference layer comprises a thickness of about 800 nm or less.

9. The article of claim 1, wherein the optical interference layer comprises an average light reflection of about 0.5% or less over the optical wavelength regime.

10. The article of claim 1, wherein the article comprises an average transmittance or average reflectance having an average oscillation amplitude of about 5 percentage points or less over the optical wavelength regime.

11. The article of claim 1, wherein the article comprises a hardness of about 16 GPa or greater as measured by indenting the coated surface with a Berkovitch indenter to form an indent having an indentation depth of at least about 100 nm from the surface of the coated surface.

12. The article of claim 1, wherein the article exhibits a surface hardness of about 14 GPa or greater, as measured on the coated surface by indenting the coated surface with a Berkovitch indenter to form an indent having an indentation depth of at least about 100 nm from the surface of the coated surface.

13. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of soda lime glass, alkali aluminosilicate glass, alkali containing borosilicate glass and alkali aluminoborosilicate glass.

14. The article of claim 13, wherein the substrate is chemically strengthened and comprises a compressive stress (CS) layer with a surface CS of at least 250 MPa extending within the chemically strengthened glass from a surface of the chemically strengthened glass to a depth of layer (DOL) of at least about 10 μ

m.

19. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a curved substrate.

21. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a Young'"'"'s modulus in the range from about 30 GPa to about 120 GPa.

23. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a refractive index in the range from about 1.45 to about 1.55.

26. The article of claim 1, wherein the incident illumination angle is in the range from about 5 degrees to about 30 degrees and the illuminant comprises an International Commission on Illumination F series illuminants.

15. An article comprising:

a substrate comprising a substrate surface and comprising a glass, a glass-ceramic, or single-crystal sapphire; and

an optical film disposed-on the substrate surface forming a coated surface,

wherein the optical film comprises a scratch-resistant layer and an optical interference layer disposed between the scratch-resistant layer and the substrate, the optical interference layer comprising at least one set of sub-layers, the set of sub-layers comprising a first low RI sub-layer and a second high RI sub-layer,

wherein the article comprises a hardness in the range from about 14 GPa to about 50 GPa as measured by indenting the coated surface with a Berkovitch indenter to form an indent having an indentation depth of at least about 100 nm from the surface of the coated surface,

wherein the article comprises an average transmission of 85% or greater; and

wherein the article comprises a color shift of less than about 2, when viewed at an incident illumination angle in the range from about 2 degrees to about 60 degrees from normal incidence under an International Commission on Illumination illuminant and F series illuminants, and

wherein color shift is calculated using the equation √

((a*₂-a*₁)²+(b*₂-b*₁)²) with a*₁, and b*₁ representing the coordinates of the article when viewed at normal incidence and a*₂, and b*₂ representing the coordinates of the article when viewed at the incident illumination angle.

16. The article of claim 15, wherein the first low RI sub-layer comprises at least one of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, GeO₂, SiO, AlO_xN_y, SiO_XN_Y, Si_uAl_vO_xN_y, MgO, MgF₂, BaF₂, CaF₂, DyF₃, YbF₃, YF₃, and CeF₃, and wherein the second high RI sub-layer comprises at least one of Si_uAl_vO_xN_y, Ta₂O₅, Nb₂O₅, AlN, Si₃N₄, Alo_xN_y, SiO_XN_Y, HfO₂, TiO₂, ZrO₂, Y₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and MoO₃.

17. The article of claim 15, wherein the scratch-resistant layer comprises at least one of AlN, Si₃N₄, AlO_XN_Y, SiO_XN_Y, Al₂O₃, SixCy, Si_xO_yC_z, ZrO₂, TiO_XN_Y, diamond, diamond-like carbon, and Si_uAl_vO_xN_y.

18. The article of claim 15, wherein the article further comprises a crack mitigating layer.

20. The article of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises a curved substrate.

22. The article of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises a Young'"'"'s modulus in the range from about 30 GPa to about 120 GPa.

24. The article of claim 15, wherein the substrate comprises a glass or a glass ceramic.

25. The article of claim 24, wherein the substrate comprises a refractive index in the range from about 1.45 to about 1.55.

27. The article of claim 15, wherein the incident illumination angle is in the range from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees.