Silicon oxynitride protective coatings

• US 6,495,251 B1
• Filed: 04/09/1998
• Issued: 12/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vitro Flat Glass LLC (Compagnie De Saint-Gobain)
• Original Assignee: PPG Industries Ohio Incorporated (Nouryon BV)
• Inventors: Medwick, Paul A., Arbab, Mehran, Marietti, Gary J., Miller, Larry A.
• Primary Examiner(s): TURNER, ARCHENE A
• Application Number:
  US09/058,440
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 428/698, 428/336, 428/432, 428/472, 428/469, 428/697, 428/699, 428/212
• US Class Current: 428/336
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3435 comprising a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/36 at least one coating being a metal
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3605 Coatings of the type glass/metal/inorganic compound
• 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 17/3626 one layer at least containing a nitride, oxynitride, boronitride or carbonitride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3639 Multilayers containing at least two functional metal layers
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3642 the multilayer coating containing a metal layer
• 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: C03C 2217/91 Coatings containing at least one layer having a composition gradient through its thickness
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0676 Oxynitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/322 only coatings of metal elements only
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/34 including at least one inorganic non-metallic material layer, e.g. metal carbide, nitride, boride, silicide layer and their mixtures, enamels, phosphates and sulphates
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/345 with at least one oxide layer
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/347 with layers adapted for cutting tools or wear applications
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/36 including layers graded in composition or physical properties
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24942 including components having same physical characteristic in differing degree
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/265 1 mil or less

Abstract

A layer for protecting an underlying functional coating stack for example a single silver layer or double silver layer Low-E coating stack includes silicon oxynitride or silicon aluminum oxynitride layer. The protective film may have a uniform composition throughout its thickness i.e. homogeneous protective layer, a constantly increasing or decreasing index of infraction throughout its thickness i.e. a graded protective layer, or a combination of all or some of the foregoing i.e. a non-homogeneous protective layer. The graded and non-homogeneous layers may have an outer surface of silicon nitride, silicon aluminum nitride, silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride or silicon aluminum oxynitride. The protective layer of the invention may be the last layer deposited on the functional coating stack or may have a film deposited thereon.

Claims

1. A coated article of the type having a coating comprising an infrared reflecting metal film between dielectric films over a surface of a substrate and a protective layer over the coating, the improvement comprising:

wherein the protective layer is a sputter coated silicon oxynitride coating having the following formula

2. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the protective coating is homogeneous.

3. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the protective coating is graded.

4. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the protective coating is non-homogeneous.

5. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of the protective layer is between 50 and 200 Angstroms.

6. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the coating has at least two infrared reflecting metal films, each of the reflecting metal films is between a pair of dielectric films.

7. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the dielectric films are metal oxide films and further including a primer film between the metal film and one of the metal oxide films and the primer film is eighty percent by weight titanium and twenty percent by weight aluminum.

8. The coated article according to claim 1 wherein the protective layer is a silicon aluminum oxynitride coating.

9. A coated article of the type having a coating comprising an infrared reflecting metal film between dielectric films on a substrate and a protective layer over the coating, the improvement comprising:

wherein the protective layer is a sputter coated silicon oxynitride coating having the following formula

10. The coated article according to claim 9 wherein the outer film is silicon nitride.

11. The coated article according to claim 9 wherein the outer film is silicon dioxide.

12. The coated article according to claim 9 wherein the outer film is zinc oxide.

13. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coated layer over a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface facing and over the functional layer, the improvement comprising wherein the first surface of the protective layer is the outermost surface of the coated article and the protective layer has chemical and mechanical durability and is a graded layer.

19. The coated article according to claim 13 wherein the protective layer has a different index of infraction moving from one surface of the gradient layer to the opposite surface of the gradient layer.

14. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coated layer over a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface facing and over the functional layer, the improvement comprising wherein the first surface of the protective layer is the outermost surface of the coated article and the protective layer has chemical and mechanical durability, is a graded layer and is a silicon oxynitride layer having the following formula:

15. The coated article according to claim 14 wherein the silicon oxynitride layer is a composition, or mixture of a single phase or phases containing silicon, oxygen, nitrogen and a transitional metal.

16. The coated article according to claim 15 wherein the protective layer is a silicon aluminum oxynitride coating.

17. The coated article according to claim 14 wherein the functional coating is a coating having at least one combination of an infrared reflective metal film between a pair of dielectric films.

18. The coated article according to claim 17 wherein a primer film is between at least one of the metal films and one of the dielectric films.

20. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coated layer over a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface facing and over the functional layer, the improvement comprising wherein the first surface is the outermost surface of the coated article and the protective layer having chemical and mechanical durability and is a non-homogeneous layer.

26. The article according to claim 20 wherein the index of refraction of the protective layer is non-uniform throughout its thickness.

21. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coated layer over a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface facing and over the functional layer, the improvement comprising wherein the first surface is the outermost surface of the coated article and the protective layer has chemical and mechanical durability, is a non-homogeneous layer, and is a silicon oxynitride layer having the following formula:

22. The coated article according to claim 21 wherein the silicon oxynitride coating is a composition, or mixture of a single phase or phases containing silicon, oxygen, nitrogen and a transitional metal.

23. The coated article according to claim 22 wherein the protective layer is a silicon aluminum oxynitride coating.

24. The coated article according to claim 21 wherein the functional coating is a coating having at least one combination of an infrared reflective metal film between a pair of dielectric films.

25. The coated article according to claim 24 wherein a primer film is between at least one of the metal films and one of the dielectric films.

27. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coating over a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface over the functional coating, the improvement comprising wherein the protective layer has chemical and mechanical durability and is a graded layer and an outer film on and in contact with the first surface of the protective layer.

28. The coated article according to claim 27 wherein the outer film is silicon nitride.

29. The coated article according to claim 27 wherein the outer film is silicon dioxide.

30. The coated article according to claim 27 wherein the outer film is zinc oxide.

31. A coated article of the type having a functional sputter coating on a substrate and a protective layer having a first surface and an opposite surface defined as a second surface with the second surface over the functional coating, the improvement comprising wherein the protective layer has chemical and mechanical durability and is a non-homogeneous layer and an outer film on and in contact with the first surface of the protective layer.

32. The coated article according to claim 31 wherein the outer film is silicon nitride.

33. The coated article according to claim 31 wherein the outer film is silicon dioxide.

34. The coated article according to claim 31 wherein the outer film is zinc oxide.