Low-E coating system including protective DLC

• US 6,447,891 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2000
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Guardian Glass LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Guardian Industries Corporation (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Thomsen, Scott V., Petrmichl, Rudolph Hugo, Veerasamy, Vijayen S.
• Primary Examiner(s): TURNER, ARCHENE A
• Application Number:
  US09/698,126
• Time in Patent Office: 680 Days
• Field of Search: 428/408, 428/472, 428/469, 428/446, 428/698, 428/216, 428/336
• US Class Current: 428/216
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 5/083 involving the use of fluoropolymers
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 17/06 by giving articles subject to fouling a special shape or arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 17/065 the surface having a microscopic surface pattern to achieve the same effect as a lotus flower
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/1033 Laminated safety glass or glazing containing temporary protective coatings or layers
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/54 using gas, e.g. hot air
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/58 for rear windows
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/22 with other inorganic material C03C17/34, C03C17/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3441 comprising carbon, a carbide or oxycarbide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3482 comprising silicon, hydrogenated silicon or a silicide
• 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 17/3621 one layer at least containing a fluoride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3626 one layer at least containing a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3634 one layer at least containing carbon, a carbide or oxycarbide
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3636 one layer at least containing silicon, hydrogenated silicon or a silicide
• 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 17/3655 the multilayer coating containing at least one conducting layer
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/366 Low-emissivity or solar control coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3681 the multilayer coating being used in glazing, e.g. windows or windscreens
• 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 2217/282 : Carbides, silicides
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/75 : Hydrophilic and oleophilic coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/76 : Hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2217/78 : Coatings specially designed to be durable, e.g. scratch-resistant
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/151 : by vacuum evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/31 : Pre-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 23/0075 : Cleaning of glass specially adapted to plate glass B08B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 3/076 : with 40% to 90% silica, by weight C03C3/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/26 : Deposition of carbon only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/208 : for use with infrared or ultraviolet radiation, e.g. for separating visible light from infrared and/or ultraviolet radiation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/30 : Self-sustaining carbon mass or layer with impregnant or other layer

Abstract

A substrate is coated with a low-E coating system including at least one infrared (IR) reflective layer. A diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive protective coating system (e.g., including at least one highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) inclusive layer having sp³ carbon-carbon bonds) is provided on the substrate over at least the IR reflective layer in order to make the low-E coating system scratch resistant, abrasion resistant, and generally mechanically durable. The DLC inclusive protective coating system may be hydrophobic, hydrophillic, or neutral in different embodiments of the invention. Optionally, at least one fluoro-alkyl silane (FAS) compound inclusive layer may be provided on the substrate over at least one of the DLC inclusive layer(s) in hydrophobic embodiments in order to increase contact angle θ of the coated article.

Claims

1. A coated article comprising:

a substrate;

a low-E coating system provided on said substrate, said low-E coating system including at least one infrared (IR) reflecting layer and a protective substantially non-crystalline diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer provided in a position such that said IR reflecting layer is located between said substrate and said protective DLC inclusive layer; and

wherein said DLC inclusive layer has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein at least about 40% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds, and wherein said DLC inclusive layer is from about 10-250 Å

thick.

2. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said DLC inclusive layer includes highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon, and wherein the coated article has an initial contact angle θ

of at least about 55 degrees.

3. The coated article of claim 1, where said low-E coating system is provided in a manner so that the coated article has a normal emissivity of no greater than about 0.10, a hemispherical emissivity of no greater than about 0.11, and a sheet resistance of no greater than about 10.0 ohms/square.

4. The coated article of claim 3, wherein said low-E coating system is provided in a manner so that the coated article has a normal emissivity of no greater than about 0.06, a hemispherical emissivity of no greater than about 0.07, and a sheet resistance of no greater than about 5.0 ohms/square, and wherein the coated article has an initial contact angle θ

of at least about 80 degrees.

5. The coated article of claim 3, wherein the coated article has a visible transmittance of at least about 75%.

6. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said DLC inclusive layer is deposited via an ion beam deposition process over the IR reflecting layer in a manner such that the IR reflecting layer is maintained at temperature(s) no greater than about 200 degrees C during the ion beam deposition process for depositing the DLC inclusive layer.

7. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said low-E coating system further includes a first dielectric layer disposed between said IR reflecting layer and said substrate, and a second dielectric layer disposed between said IR reflecting layer and said DLC inclusive layer.

8. The coated article of claim 7, wherein said first dielectric layer comprises TiO₂ and said second dielectric layer comprises silicon nitride.

9. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said low-E coating system comprises, from said substrate outwardly, a layer system including:

a) a dielectric layer;

b) a dielectric layer comprising silicon nitride;

c) a Ni inclusive layer;

d) said IR reflecting layer including Ag;

e) a Ni inclusive layer;

f) a dielectric layer comprising silicon nitride; and

g) said DLC inclusive layer.

10. The coated article of claim 9, wherein said low-E coating system comprises first and second DLC inclusive layers located outwardly of said IR reflecting layer.

11. The coated article of claim 10, wherein each of said first and second DLC inclusive layers includes highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon.

12. The coated article of claim 1, further comprising a fluoro-alkyl silane (FAS) compound inclusive layer located on said substrate such that said DLC inclusive layer is located between said FAS compound inclusive layer and said IR reflecting layer.

13. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said low-E coating system has an initial contact angle θ

of at least about 55 degrees, and said DLC inclusive layer has an average hardness of at least about 10 GPa.

14. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said low-E coating system includes first and second DLC inclusive layers, said first DLC inclusive layer including silicon (Si) and being provided between said second DLC inclusive layer and said substrate;

and

wherein said second DLC inclusive layer is deposited in a manner so that at least a portion of said second DLC inclusive layer has a greater hardness and higher density than said first DLC inclusive layer.

15. The coated article of claim 14, wherein said low-E coating system further includes an FAS inclusive layer provided on said second DLC inclusive layer, so that said second DLC inclusive layer is located between said first DLC inclusive layer and said FAS inclusive layer.

16. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said coated article has an initial contact angle of at least about 80 degrees.

17. The coated article of claim 16, wherein said initial contact angle is at least about 100 degrees.

18. The coated article of claim 1, wherein said low-E coating system has a surface energy γ

_C of less than or equal to about 20.2 mN/m.

19. The coated article of claim 18, wherein said low-E coating system has a surface energy γ

_C of less than or equal to about 19.5 mN/m.

20. The coated article of claim 1, further comprising a fluoro-alkyl silane (FAS) compound inclusive layer located on said substrate such that said DLC inclusive layer is located between said FAS compound inclusive layer and said IR reflecting layer;

and

wherein said FAS compound includes at least one of;

CF₃(CH₂)₂Si(OCH₃)₃;

CF₃(CF₂)₅(CH₂)₂Si(OCH₂CH ₃)₃;

CF₃(CH₂)₂SiCl₃;

CF₃(CF₂)₇(CH₂)₂Si(OCH₃) ₃;

CF₃(CF₂)₅(CH₂) ₂Si(OCH₃)₃;

CF₃(CF₂)₇(CH₂)₂SiCl₃;

CF₃(CF₂)₇(CH₂)₂SiCH ₃Cl₂; and

CF₃(CF₂)₇(CH₂)₂SiCH₃(OCH₃)₂.

21. The coated article of claim 14, wherein said first DLC inclusive layer comprises more silicon (Si) than said second DLC inclusive layer.

22. The coated article of claim 21, wherein each of said first and second DLC inclusive layers include sp³ carbon-carbon bonds.

23. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the coated article has a visible transmission of at least 70%.

24. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the low-E coating system has a sheet resistance (R_s) of no greater than about 10 ohms/square.

25. The coated article of claim 1, wherein at least about 60% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds.

26. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the DLC inclusive layer further includes hydrogen.

27. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the DLC inclusive layer has an average density of from about 2.7 to 3.0 gm/cm³.

28. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the DLC inclusive layer is from about 30-60 Å

thick.

29. The coated article of claim 1, wherein the low-E coating system comprises a first dielectric layer, a metal or metal oxide layer, a layer comprising Ag, another metal or metal oxide layer, and a second dielectric layer, wherein the layer comprising Ag and the metal or metal oxide layers are all provided between the first and second dielectric layers.

30. A coated article comprising:

a glass substrate;

at least one dielectric layer on said substrate;

an IR reflecting layer on said substrate, wherein said dielectric layer is located between said IR reflecting layer and said substrate;

a hydrophobic coating system including diamond-like carbon (DLC), wherein said IR reflecting layer is located between said hydrophobic coating system and said substrate;

wherein said hydrophobic coating system has an initial contact angle θ

with a drop of water of at least about 55 degrees; and

wherein said hydrophobic coating system includes a layer comprising DLC that has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein at least about 40% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said layer comprising DLC are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds, and wherein said layer comprising DLC is from about 10-250 Å

thick.

31. The coated article of claim 30, wherein said hydrophobic coating system further comprises at least one fluoro-alkyl silane (FAS) compound.

32. The article of claim 30, wherein said initial contact angle is at least about 80 degrees.

33. The coated article of claim 30, wherein the coated article has a visible transmission of at least 70%.

34. The coated article of claim 30, wherein the DLC inclusive layer further includes hydrogen.

35. A coated article comprising:

a glass substrate;

a multi-layer arrangement provided on said glass substrate, the multi-layer arrangement including at least one layer comprising Ag; and

a protective diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer including tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta—

C) provided in a position such that said layer comprising Ag is located between said glass substrate and said protective DLC inclusive layer; and

wherein said DLC inclusive layer has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein at least about 40% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds, and wherein said DLC inclusive layer is from about 10-250 Å

thick.

36. The coated article of claim 35, wherein the coated article has a visible transmission of at least 70%.

37. The coated article of claim 35, wherein the multi-layer arrangement has a sheet resistance (R_s) of no greater than about 10 ohms/square.

38. The coated article of claim 35, wherein at least about 60% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds.

39. The coated article of claim 35, wherein the DLC inclusive layer further includes hydrogen.

40. The coated article of claim 35, wherein the DLC inclusive layer has an average density of from about 2.7 to 3.0 gm/cm³.

55. The coated article of claim 35, wherein the multi-layer arrangement comprises a first dielectric layer, a metal or metal oxide layer, the layer comprising Ag, another metal or metal oxide layer, and a second dielectric layer, wherein the layer comprising Ag and the metal or metal oxide layers are all provided between the first and second dielectric layers.

41. A coated article comprising:

a glass substrate;

a low-E coating system provided on said glass substrate, said low-E coating system including at least one infrared (IR) reflecting layer, first and second Si inclusive dielectric layers, and a protective substantially non-crystalline diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer;

wherein said first Si inclusive dielectric layer is located between said DLC inclusive layer and said IR reflecting layer; and

wherein said DLC inclusive layer has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein at least about 40% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusivel layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds, and wherein said DLC inclusive layer is from about 10-250 Å

thick.

42. The coated article of claim 41, wherein the coated article has a visible transmission of at least 70%.

43. The coated article of claim 41, wherein the low-E coating system has a sheet resistance (R_s) of no greater than about 10 ohms/square.

44. The coated article of claim 41, wherein at least about 60% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds.

45. The coated article of claim 41, wherein the DLC inclusive layer further includes hydrogen.

46. The coated article of claim 41, wherein the DLC inclusive layer has an average density of from about 2.7 to 3.0 gm/cm³.

47. The coated article of claim 41, wherein the low-E coating system comprises the first Si inclusive dielectric layer, a metal or metal oxide layer, a layer comprising Ag that is the IR reflecting layer, another metal or metal oxide layer, and the second Si inclusive dielectric layer, wherein the layer comprising Ag and the metal or metal oxide layers are all provided between the first and second Si inclusive dielectric layers.

48. A coated article comprising:

a glass substrate;

a coating provided on said glass substrate, said coating including at least one layer comprising Ag and at least two dielectric layers;

a protective diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer provided on said glass substrate in a position such that said layer comprising Ag is located between said glass substrate and said DLC inclusive layer; and

wherein said DLC inclusive layer has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein said DLC inclusive layer is hydrogenated, and wherein said DLC inclusive layer is from about 10-250 Å

thick.

49. The coated article of claim 48, wherein the coated article has a visible transmission of at least 70%.

50. The coated article of claim 48, wherein the coating has a sheet resistance (R_s) of no greater than about 10 ohms/square.

51. The coated article of claim 48, wherein at least about 60% of carbon-carbon (C—

C) bonds in said DLC inclusive layer are sp³ carbon-carbon bonds.

52. The coated article of claim 48, wherein the DLC inclusive layer has an average density of from about 2.7 to 3.0 gm/cm³.

53. The coated article of claim 48, wherein the DLC inclusive layer is from about 30-60 Å

thick.

54. The coated article of claim 48, wherein the coating comprises the dielectric layer, a metal or metal oxide layer, a layer comprising Ag, another metal or metal oxide layer, and another or second dielectric layer, wherein the layer comprising Ag and the metal or metal oxide layers are all provided between the dielectric layers.

56. A coated article comprising:

a glass substrate supporting a coating system, wherein the coating system includes a layer comprising Ag located between at least first and second dielectric layers;

a layer comprising hydrogenated amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) provided on the glass substrate over the coating system, wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average density of at least about 2.4 gm/cm³, wherein the layer comprising DLC has more sp³ carbon-carbon bonds than sp² carbon-carbon bonds; and

wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least about 10 GPa.

57. The coated article of claim 56, wherein the coating system has a sheet resistance of no greater than about 10 ohms/square, and the coated article has a visible transmission of at least about 70%.