Process for depositing finely dispersed organic-inorganic films and articles made therefrom

• US 7,163,749 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2002
• Issued: 01/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SABIC Global Technologies BV (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Miebach, Thomas, Iacovangelo, Charles, Mercedes, Michael William
• Primary Examiner(s): Feely; Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US10/248,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20040121167A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: 428/409, 428/411.1, 428/412, 428/446, 428/447, 428/448, 428/688, 428/702, 428/908.8, 428/913, 428/323
• US Class Current: 428/447
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/009 Mixtures of organic and inorganic materials, e.g. ormosils and ormocers
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/34 with at least two coatings having different compositions C03C17/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/30 Deposition of compounds, mixtures or solid solutions, e.g. borides, carbides, nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/513 using plasma jets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/913 Material designed to be responsive to temperature, light, moisture
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31663 As siloxane, silicone or silane

Abstract

A single hybrid organic-inorganic film. The film includes both an organic component, and an inorganic component. The organic component and inorganic component are well interspersed within the film. The film may be incorporated into a multilayer structure including a substrate. A method of forming a hybrid organic-inorganic film. The method includes generating a plasma stream with an expanding thermal plasma generator. The method also includes providing a first reactant and at least one second reactant into the plasma stream extending to a substrate, and forming the hybrid organic-inorganic film on the substrate.

Claims

1. A hybrid organic-inorganic film comprising an organic component and an inorganic component, the film formed by the process of:

generating a plasma stream with an expanding thermal plasma generator;

providing a first reactant comprising TiCl₄ and at least one second reactant comprising water vapor and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) into the plasma stream extending to a substrate;

forming the hybrid organic-inorganic film on the substrate.

2. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein the plasma comprises an Ar plasma.

3. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein the process further comprises:

supplying the first reactant into the plasma at a rate of between 0.1 and 10 lpm, and the at least one second reactant into the plasma at a rate of 0.1 to 1 lpm.

4. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 3, wherein the process further comprises:

supplying the first reactant into the plasma at a rate of between 0.2 and 2 lpm, and the at least one second reactant into the plasma at a rate of 0.01 to 0.2 lpm.

5. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein the film comprises between 10% and 90% organic component by volume.

6. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein the organic component comprises an abrasion resistant material and the inorganic component comprises an ultraviolet (UV) filter material.

7. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein a first property is associated with the organic component and a second property is associated with the inorganic component, and one of the first and second properties remains substantially constant over a range of volume percents of respective organic and inorganic components.

8. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 7, wherein the second property is UV absorbency and the UV absorbency remains substantially constant over the range of volume percents of the inorganic component.

9. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 1, wherein a first property is associated with the organic component and a second property is associated with the inorganic component, and one of the first and second properties changes linearly with the volume percent of the respective organic and inorganic components over a range of volume percents.

10. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 9, wherein the first property is refractive index (RI) and the RI changes linearly with the volume percent of the inorganic component over the range of volume percents.

11. The hybrid organic-inorganic film of claim 9, wherein the first property is a stress of the film and the stress changes linearly with the volume percent of the inorganic component over the range of volume percents.