Southwall Technologies Inc.

Other

The Dow Chemical Company

Floyd E Woodard

Steven P Webb

Andrew J Strandjord

Yisheng Dai

Thomas Pass

Reto Furler

Clark Ivan Bright

Louis C Lau

David A Jones

Kevin P Gibbons

Larry C Peck

Jerome W Knapczyk

In a titanium nitride-based optical coating, the structural stability of the coating is enhanced by providing a damage-retardation base layer between the titanium nitride layer and a substrate. Where the optical coating is to provide solar control, the titanium nitride layer is selected primarily for achieving desired optical characteristics, while the thickness of the damage-retardation layer is selected primarily for achieving desired mechanical characteristics. The damage-retardation layer is formed of a grey metal, with nickel chromium being the preferred metal. The grey metal layer reduces the likelihood that the titanium nitride layer will crack. The tendency of such a layer to crack and form worm tracks is further reduced by exposing the substrate to a plasma preglow and/or by using a slip agent on the side of the substrate on which the layers are to be formed.

Reducing the susceptibility of titanium nitride optical layers to crack

A solar control member utilizes a combination of layers that include spaced apart titanium nitride layers to selectively transmit a higher percentage of visible light than near infrared energy, with a low visible light reflection. The titanium nitride layers are spaced apart by a distance that promotes optical decoupling with respect to occurrence of constructive and destructive interference of visible light propagating between the two titanium nitride layers. In one embodiment, the titanium nitride layers are spaced apart by a laminating adhesive layer. In another embodiment, the titanium nitride layers are formed on opposite sides of a substrate. Each titanium nitride layer is sputter deposited. Care is taken to ensure that each layer does not become too metallic and to ensure that excessive oxygen is not incorporated into the layer.

Dual titanium nitride layers for solar control

A multi-layer antireflection coating is formed to include successive layers of a medium refractive index material, a high refractive index material, and a low refractive index material. The medium refractive index layer is hydrogenated in order to tailor the refractive index of the material to below 1.99 and to increase clarity in transmission. Preferably, the hydrogen atomic concentration is at least 7 percent, more preferably exceeds 9 percent, and most preferably exceeds 18 percent. The three layers combine to form a three-layer antireflection coating, but the hydrogenation may be used in antireflection coatings having a greater or lesser number of layers.

Hydrogenating a layer of an antireflection coating

Heat wave-reflective or electrically conductive substantially transparent sheets, such as glazing sheets, which include a transparent solid substrate and one or more sequential transparent gold-clad silver layers supported by the substrate are disclosed. These sheets have superior corrosion resistance to equivalent sheets made without the gold cladding or made with gold/silver alloys. Sputter-deposit methods for producing these sheets are also disclosed.

Gold-clad-silver-layer-containing films

Vacuum deposition processes such as sputter-depositing are employed to deposit electrically conductive bus bars onto thin film transparent conductor sheets. These assemblies provide efficient and durable electrical connections to the conductor sheets which can be laminated into glazing structures such as automotive windshields to provide resistance heating for defogging and deicing or the provide an electrical connection for in-window antennas and in window radiation shields.

Vacuum deposition of bus bars onto conductive transparent films

A solar control member utilizes a combination of layers that include spaced apart titanium nitride layers to selectively transmit a higher percentage of visible light than near infrared energy, with a low visible light reflection. The titanium nitride layers are spaced apart by a distance that promotes optical decoupling with respect to occurrence of constructive and destructive interference of visible light propagating between the two titanium nitride layers. In one embodiment, the titanium nitride layers are spaced apart by a laminating adhesive layer. In another embodiment, the titanium nitride layers are formed on opposite sides of a substrate. The ratio of transmission at the wavelength of 550 nm to transmission at the wavelength of 1500 is at least 1.25. Each titanium nitride layer is sputter deposited. Care is taken to ensure that each layer does not become too metallic and to ensure that excessive oxygen is not incorporated into the layer. Thus, the nitrogen flow rate and the linespeed are controlled. Sputtering occurs at a fast rate using high powers and a minimum acceptable nitrogen flow, while minimizing background contamination.

A reflection control member includes a multilayer stack that is adhered to a substrate using a primer layer to promote adhesion. The multilayer stack includes pairs of layers in which the first layer is a grey metal and the second layer is a substantially transparent material. In the preferred embodiment, the grey metal is nickel chromium and the transparent layer is a silicon oxide. For each pair of layers, the grey metal is nearer to the surface of the substrate for which antireflection is a concern. The primer layer has a thickness of less than 50 angstroms. Although the primer layer is deposited in an essentially oxygen-free environment, it may oxidize following deposition.

Multilayer absorbing antireflective coating

A solar control film having low visible light transmittance and low visible light reflectance is comprised of a first sheet of transparent substrate material having deposited thereon a solar-load-reduction film for preferentially reducing infrared light energy transmitted through the film, and a second sheet of transparent substrate material having deposited thereon a thin, transparent film of metal effective to partially block light transmittance, wherein the first sheet of transparent substrate and the second sheet of transparent substrate are separated by an optically massive layer that prevents the constructive and destructive interference of reflected light. A preferred embodiment of a solar control film includes, in order, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a polyethylene terephthalate layer, a Fabry-Perot interference filter layer, an adhesive layer, a grey metal layer, another polyethylene terephthalate layer, and a hardcoat layer. The preferred solar control film provides wavelength selectivity in the infrared range while controlling visible light transmission and minimizing visual light reflectance.

Wavelength selective applied films with glare control

The durability of thin metal coatings and particularly substantially transparent copper and silver plus noble metal coatings and their ability to withstand corrosive environments is improved by overcoating the metal layers with a double coating of dielectric. The first coating is made up of dielectric based on indium and/or zinc. The second coating is made up of dielectric based on indium and tin. These overcoatings are more effective than a single coating based on one metal or a single coating based upon the two metals.

Multiple layer thin films with improved corrosion resistance

The adhesion to plastic substrates of thick layers of functional metals having an oxide heat of formation that is greater than -40,000 calories/gram atom of metal, such as silver, copper, gold, and the like, is improved if a thin layer of a metal having an oxide heat of formation of less than -50,000 calories/gram atom of metal is present as an adhesion-promoting primer layer. When the primer layer metal has a melting point greater than 1100.degree. C., it should be present as the metal or as a substoichiometric oxide. When the primer layer metal has a melting point less than 1100.degree. C., it may be present as the metal, as a substoichiometric oxide, or as a full stoichiometric oxide. Processes for preparing these materials using sputter-depositing and reflectors incorporating these materials are also disclosed.

Metal on plastic films with adhesion-promoting layer

Carbon-based polymer substrates such as polyesters are antireflected by applying to the substrates one or more discontinuous layers of inorganic metal compounds having an index of refraction greater than that of the substrates.

Antireflection coatings

Optical storage media based on ablative metals give improved stability and offer improved write-read characteristics when they are overcoated with inorganic oxide, nitride, carbide, hydride, oxynitride or carbohydride to a reflectivity of 40-80% at the media write/read wavelength. Preferably the metal and overcoat are applied by sputter-depositing.

Growing community of inventors

Los Altos, CA, United States of America

Floyd E Woodard