Color suppressed anti-reflective glass

• US 6,165,598 A
• Filed: 08/14/1998
• Issued: 12/26/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Libbey-Owens-Ford Co. (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: Libbey-Owens-Ford Co. (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Nelson, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Hoa T.
• Application Number:
  US09/134,284
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 428/332, 428/336, 428/212, 428/216, 428/428, 428/432, 428/701, 428/702, 359/359, 359/360, 359/361, 359/586
• US Class Current: 428/212
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3417 all coatings being oxide coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3441 comprising carbon, a carbide or oxycarbide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3452 comprising a fluoride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/347 comprising a sulfide or oxysulfide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/732 made of a single layer
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/734 comprising an alternation of high and low refractive indexes
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/91 Coatings containing at least one layer having a composition gradient through its thickness
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/94 Transparent conductive oxide layers [TCO] being part of a multilayer coating
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/115 Multilayers
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/265 1 mil or less

Abstract

A thin film stack applied onto a surface of a glass substrate. The thin film stack includes an iridescence-suppressing interlayer and an anti-reflective thin film stack applied over the iridescence-suppressing interlayer. The resulting coated glass article exhibits a low total reflectance and an aesthetically neutral color in reflectance from the film side.

Claims

1. A glass article, comprising:

(a) a glass substrate having a surface,

(b) an iridescence-suppressing interlayer deposited on and adhering to the surface of the glass substrate;

(c) a first coating of a transparent thin film deposited on and adhering to said iridescence-suppressing interlayer; and

(d) a second coating of a transparent thin film deposited on and adhering to said first coating to form a coated glass article, said first coating having a refractive index of at least 0.2 greater than a refractive index of said second coating, said coated glass article having a single surface reflectance, Illuminant C at normal incidence from the film side, of one or less.

2. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said first coating of a transparent thin film is selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, conductive metal oxides, zinc sulfide, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, and silicon oxycarbide.

3. A glass article as recited in claim 2, wherein said metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, and conductive metal oxides include metals selected from the group consisting of silicon, tin, indium, aluminum, and titanium.

4. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said second coating of transparent thin film is selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, magnesium fluoride, aluminum oxide, and aluminum nitride.

5. A glass article as recited in claim 4, wherein said metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, and conductive metal oxides include metals selected from the group consisting of silicon, tin, indium, and titanium.

6. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said first coating of a transparent thin film has a refractive index of about 1.8 to about 2.6.

7. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said second coating of a transparent thin film has a refractive index of about 1.25 to about 1.65.

8. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said coated glass article has a total reflectance, Illuminant C at normal incidence from the film side, of less than 5%.

9. The coated glass article of claim 1, wherein said interlayer has a refractive index defined as about the square root of the multiple of the refractive indices of said glass, said first coating, and said second coating, said interlayer having a total optical thickness of about 1/4 wavelength of a 500 nanometer design wavelength.

10. The coated glass article of claim 1, wherein said interlayer further comprises two component layers including,

(a) a first component layer of relatively high index refractive index material deposited on and adhering to the glass substrate;

(b) a second component layer of a relatively low refractive index material deposited on and adhering to the first component layer, wherein each component layer has a thickness such that the combined interlayer forms an iridescence suppressing means with a total optical thickness of about 1/6th to about 1/12th of a 500 nanometer design wavelength.

11. A glass article as recited in claim 10, wherein said first component layer and said second component layer each have thickness in the range of about 150 angstroms to about 300 angstroms.

12. The coated glass article of claim 1, further comprising a third coating of a transparent thin film deposited on and adhering to said second coating, said third coating having a refractive index of at least 0.2 greater than the refractive index of said second coating.

13. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said article exhibits a neutral color in reflectance from the film side as defined in the CIELAB system having an a* value from about 6 to about -6 and a b* value of about 6 to about -6.

14. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said glass substrate is a float glass ribbon and said iridescence-suppressing interlayer and said first and second coatings are deposited onto the glass substrate in a float glass ribbon process.

15. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said first coating and said second coating each have a thickness of about 700 angstroms to about 1500 angstroms.

16. A glass article as recited in claim 1, wherein said transparent thin films have an extinction co-efficient of about 0.1 or less.

17. A glass article, comprising:

(a) a glass substrate having a surface,

(b) an iridescence-suppressing interlayer deposited on and adhering to the surface of the glass substrate;

(c) a first coating of a transparent thin film deposited on and adhering to said iridescence-suppressing interlayer; and

(d) a second coating of a transparent thin film deposited on and adhering to said first coating to form a coated glass article, said first coating having a refractive index of at least 0.2 greater than a refractive index of said second coating, said glass article having a neutral color in reflectance from the film side as defined in the CIELAB system having an a* value from about 6 to about -6 and a b* value of about 6 to about -6.

18. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said coated glass article has a single surface reflectance, Illuminant C at normal incidence from the film side, of one or less.

19. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said first coating of a transparent thin film is selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, conductive metal oxides, zinc sulfide, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, and silicon oxycarbide.

20. A glass article as recited in claim 19, wherein said metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, and conductive metal oxides include metals selected from the group consisting of silicon, tin, indium, aluminum, and titanium.

21. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said second coating of transparent thin film is selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, magnesium fluoride, aluminum oxide, and aluminum nitride.

22. A glass article as recited in claim 21, wherein said metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, and conductive metal oxides include metals selected from the group consisting of silicon, tin, indium, and titanium.

23. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said first coating of a transparent thin film has a refractive index of about 1.8 to about 2.6.

24. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said second coating of a transparent thin film has a refractive index of about 1.25 to about 1.65.

25. A glass article as recited in claim 17, wherein said first coating and said second coating each have a thickness of about 700 angstroms to about 1500 angstroms.