GLAZING HAVING HIGH NEAR INFRARED LIGHT TRANSMISSION CAPACITIES

DESCRIPTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention falls in the field of automotive glazing and relates to a glazing having enhanced transmission of near infrared light. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such glazing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the sensors widely employed for determining distance ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser is Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging sensors, also called LiDAR sensors. These sensors are based on measuring the time for an emitted light to be reflected and to return to the receiver.

LiDAR sensors are usually used in the elaboration of high resolution maps having application in fields like geography, geology, atmospheric physics etc. LiDAR sensors can use ultraviolet (UV) light, visible light or near infrared (NIR) light in order to target all types of material such as rocks, rain, chemical compounds, clouds and, in some cases, single molecules.

Also, LiDAR sensors are now used as detection systems in control and navigation of autonomous cars for example.

In autonomous vehicles, LiDAR sensors are implemented on the vehicle glazing in order to provide to said vehicle the capacity to drive autonomously, avoid obstacles and navigate safely through environments. LiDAR sensors provide data to determine the location of the obstacles and the position of the vehicle in relation to the obstacles. These sensors, in autonomous vehicles, usually operate in the near infrared light range of wavelength.

In the particular case of a car, LiDAR sensors are mounted either on the exterior of the glazing or behind said glazing at the interface between the glazing and the roof. By mounting the LiDAR sensor on the exterior of the glazing, it is submitted to any external element such as dust, dirt, water, pollution, etc. On the contrary, mounting the LiDAR sensor behind the glazing, i.e. in the interior of the vehicle, facing the inner surface of the glazing, resolves these issues, as well as aesthetics issues resulting from mounting said sensor on the front side of the windshield. In this particular case where the LiDAR is facing the inner surface of the glazing, the glazing may be transparent such as a windshield or a sidelite window.

However, in case of mounting a LiDAR sensor behind the glazing, the resulting performance of this sensor depends on the transmission of near infrared light and, therefore, depends on the transmission capabilities of the glazing.

The major drawback of having a LiDAR sensor mounted behind the windshield is that at a given angle of installation, the transmission of NIR light decreases considerably.

The prior-art has tried to solve this transmission problem by trying to eliminate interferences such as decreasing the optical path of the area where the LiDAR is installed. In this case, cutouts are made in the glazing such as to remove one of the glazing layers as demonstrated by document WO21053138. The drawback of this solution is that it creates weaking points in the glazing, as well as additional manufacturing steps and problems with alignments.

Another solution brought by the prior-art was the use of coatings or films deposited onto the internal layer of the glazing to compensate for the loss in transmission such as in documents WO22064226 and W020017495. The main drawbacks of these solutions are the feasibility in manufacturing. For partially depositing such coatings for example, it should need masking of the regions that do not require the coating. The product could become more expensive and lead to a lower yield due to longer manufacturing time.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a glazing that provides enhanced and optimized NIR light transmission capacities in a way that avoids all the drawbacks of the prior-art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a solution for the above mentioned drawbacks by a glazing according to independent claim 1 , a system according to claim 18 and a method for manufacturing a glazing. In dependent claims, preferred embodiments of the glazing of the invention and the system of the invention are defined.

In a first inventive aspect, the present invention provides a glazing comprising: a stack having a width w _s and a length l _s , the stack comprising at least two glass layers and at least one bonding layer, wherein the at least two glass layers comprises: a first glass layer having an exterior surface oriented towards the outside of the stack and an interior surface oriented towards the inside of the stack, and a second glass layer having an interior surface oriented towards the inside of the stack and an exterior surface oriented towards the outside of the stack, wherein the at least one bonding layer is located in between the at least two glass layers, at least one additional glass layer bonded to an exterior surface of the stack by at least one adhesive layer, wherein the at least one additional glass layer has a width w _a and a length l _a such that w _a < w _s and l _a < l _s , and comprises an interior surface oriented towards the stack and an opposed exterior surface, at least one layer of anti-reflective coating located on at least a portion of the interior surface of the additional glass layer and/or at least a portion of the exterior surface of the additional glass layer, wherein the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is configured to transmit near infrared light having a wavelength in the range from 850 nm to 1550 nm.

The following terminology is used along the present document to describe features of the invention.

The term “layer”, as used in this context, shall include the common definition of the word, i.e.: a sheet, quantity, or thickness, of material, typically of some homogeneous substance.

The term “glass” can be applied to many organic and inorganic materials, including many that are not transparent. From a scientific standpoint, “glass” is defined as a state of matter comprising a non-crystalline amorphous solid that lacks the ordered molecular structure of true solids at large range. Glasses have the mechanical rigidity of crystals with the random structure of liquids.

The term “glazing” should be understood as a product comprised of at least one layer of a transparent material, preferably glass, which serves to provide for the transmission of light and/or to provide for viewing of the side opposite to the viewer and which is intended to be mounted in an opening in a building, vehicle, wall or roof or other framing member or enclosure.

“Laminates”, in general, are products comprised of multiple sheets of thin, relative to their length and width, material, with each thin sheet having two oppositely disposed major faces and typically of a relatively uniform thickness, which are permanently bonded to each other across at least one major face of each sheet.

The term “stack” refers to the arrangement in a pile manner of a plurality of layers.

The invention provides a glazing comprising a stack having a width w _s and a length l _s , the stack comprising at least two glass layers and at least one bonding layer, wherein the at least one bonding layer is located in between the at least two glass layers. The glazing also comprises at least one additional glass layer bonded to an exterior surface of the stack by at least one adhesive layer.

The at least one additional glass layer of the glazing has a width w _a and a length l _a such that w _a < w _s and l _a < l _s , and the at least one additional glass layer comprises an interior surface oriented towards the stack and an opposed exterior surface.

At least one layer of anti-reflective coating is located on at least a portion of the interior surface of the additional glass layer and/or on at least a portion of the exterior surface of the additional glass layer, wherein the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is configured to transmit near infrared light.

Advantageously, the glazing of the present invention maximizes the transmission of near infrared light by the at least one additional glass layer having at least one layer of anti- reflective coating bonded to the stack. The usage of an additional glass layer is counter-intuitive to the solution of the transmission problem. Adding more layers of glass increases the optical path and therefore decreases the level of light transmission. However, it was surprisingly found that the usage of an additional glass layer coated with an anti-reflective coating not only compensated for the loss in transmission due to the increase in optical path, but actually enhanced the transmission of near infrared light.

The additional glass layer may be annealed or strengthened.

In an embodiment, the additional glass layer is chemically strengthened. Advantageously, by chemically strengthening the additional glass layer achieves very high levels of surface compression and the strength of the additional glass layer is increased.

The chemical strengthening increases the strength of glass through the use of an ion exchange process which creates a compression layer on the glass surface, similar to thermal strengthening. An important difference is that extremely thin glass, such as glass having a thickness below 2.5 mm, can be chemically strengthened so that extremely thin glass are able to withstand much higher levels of compression rather than thermally strengthened glass.

In an embodiment, the anti-reflective coating comprises at least two dielectric layers having alternated high and low indices of refraction measured at the 550 nm wavelength, the high index of refraction being above 1.8 and the low index of refraction being below 1.6.

In an embodiment, the glazing comprises a plurality of layers of anti-reflective coating provided on the additional glass layer. Advantageously, placing more than one layer of anti-reflective coating on the at least one additional glass layer provides higher capacities to the glazing of the invention for performing high transmission of near infrared light.

In an embodiment, the at least one additional glass layer is bonded to the exterior surface of the second glass layer of the stack. In another embodiment, the at least one additional glass layer is bonded to the exterior surface of the first glass layer of the stack.

In an embodiment, w _a < w _s and/or l _a < l _s . In this embodiment, the additional glass layer is smaller than the stack, which allows saving material. Also, the glazing of the invention, in that embodiment in particular, is lighter than the glazing of the invention having an additional glass layer completely covering the stack.

In an embodiment, the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating has a width w _c and a length l _c such that w _c < w _s and/or l _c < l _s .

In an embodiment, the glazing comprises a plurality of additional glass layers, each additional glass layer having a width and a length respectively smaller than the width and the length of the stack, and each additional glass layer being bonded to one exterior surface of the stack by an adhesive layer. The dimensions of the additional glass layers may be the same or different. In an embodiment, the adhesive layers bonding the additional glass layers to the stack have a width and a length similar to the ones of the corresponding additional glass layer. In an embodiment, each additional glass layer is not in contact with another additional glass layer and the interior surface of each additional glass layer is oriented towards the stack.

In an embodiment, the at least one adhesive layer is a thermoplastic layer.

In an embodiment, the at least one adhesive layer is an optical adhesive, such as Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) or Optically Clear Resin (OCR), or a bonding layer, such as polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polyurethane (Pll), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or acoustic modified PVB.

In an embodiment, the adhesive layer is composed of TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), which has been found to provide high transmission in the Near Infra Red (NIR) range.

Preferably, the at least one adhesive layer is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Said at least one adhesive layer of thermoplastic polyurethane preferably has a thickness of 0.1 to 0.38 mm. ln an embodiment, the adhesive layer has a thickness in the range from 0.1 to 1.52 mm, preferably in the range from 0.1 to 0.38 mm.

In an embodiment, the layer of anti-reflective coating is configured for transmitting near infrared light having specific wavelength such as 905 nm, 940 nm or 1550 nm. The layer of anti-reflective coating may be optimized for each of the particular wavelength above mentioned or to any wavelength in the range from 850 nm to 1550 nm.

In an embodiment, the at least two glass layers of the stack comprise alkali aluminosilicate glass, soda lima clear glass, soda lime ultra-clear glass, solar green glass or borosilicate glass. In an embodiment, each of the at least two glass layers is made of the same material. In a preferred embodiment, the material of the at least two glass layers of the stack is soda lime ultra-clear glass. In other embodiments, each of the at least two glass layers is made of a different material, preferably selected from the following list: alkali aluminosilicate glass, soda lima clear glass, soda lime ultra-clear glass, solar green glass or borosilicate glass.

In an embodiment, the at least two glass layers of the stack have a thickness in the range from 0.7 to 3.8 mm, preferably from 1.6 to 2.1 mm, more preferably, a thickness of 2.1 mm.

In some embodiments, the at least two glass layers have the same thickness. In some other embodiments, the at least two glass layers have different thickness.

In an embodiment, the at least one bonding layer is Polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polyurethane (Pll) or ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). Preferably, the at least one bonding layer is PVB.

In an embodiment, the at least one bonding layer has a thickness in the range from 0.38 to 1.5 mm, more preferably 0.76 mm.

In an embodiment, the additional glass layer is alkali aluminosilicate glass, clear soda lime glass, soda lime ultra-clear glass or borosilicate glass. Preferably, the additional glass layer is alkali aluminosilicate glass or soda lime ultra-clear glass. In an embodiment, the additional glass layer has a thickness in the range from 0.4 to 2 mm.

In an embodiment, the glazing is configured for transmitting more than 87.8% of emitted near infrared light at an angle of incidence of 0 degrees, preferably above 92%, and/or the glazing is configured for transmitting more than 78.8% of emitted near infrared light at an angle of incidence of 65 degrees, preferably above 85%.

Standard laminated glazing (two soda-lime glass layers bonded with one PVB bonding layer) only achieves, at best, 87.8% of transmission of the emitted near infrared light at an angle of incidence of 0 degrees and, at best, 78.8% of transmission of the emitted near infrared light at an angle of incidence of 65 degrees.

In an embodiment, the glazing is bent. Preferably, the glass layers of the glazing are hot bent or cold bent. In an embodiment, the glazing is bent. Preferably, at least one of the glass layers of the stack and/or the at least one additional glass layer is cold bent.

In one embodiment, the glazing comprises at least one Infrared reflecting (IRR) element. This Infrared reflecting element helps reducing the direct solar load inside the vehicle, while allowing visible light to pass through. The Infrared reflecting element may be selected from the group consisting of a film, a coating or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the Infrared reflecting element is arranged between the at least two glass layers.

In an embodiment, an infrared reflecting element is an IRR multi-layer optical film, such as an Ultra Clear Solar Film (UCSF), arranged between the at least two glass layers. In such embodiment, said film has a cutout in at least a portion of the glazing in which the anti-reflecting coating is located. In this embodiment, the IRR multi-layer optical film is preferably disposed between two bonding layers. Additionally, in this embodiment, the cutout is preferably filled by the bonding layer material during lamination or, if desired, an additional plastic interlayer can be placed in the cutout. The IRR multi-layer optical film may be a non-metallic multi-layer film (such as a UCSF film) or a spectrally-selective metallic film (such as a XIR film). In a preferred embodiment, the IRR multi-layer optical film is a PET-based film (PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate), particularly a UCSF film. In an embodiment, an Infrared reflecting element is an Infrared reflecting (IRR) coating deposited on any of the interior surfaces of the first or second glass layers. Preferably, such IRR coating is deposited on the interior surface of the first glass layer. In an embodiment, the IRR coating has a window in at least a portion of the glazing in which the anti-reflecting coating is located.

In an embodiment, the at least one Infrared reflecting element comprises a plurality of Infrared reflecting elements. In an embodiment the at least one Infrared reflecting element comprises an Infrared reflecting film and an Infrared reflecting coating according to any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

In an embodiment, the glazing of the invention is a windshield, a panoramic windshield, a sidelite window, or a backlite.

In the same embodiment, the glass layers of the glazing of the invention are preferably transparent and allow light to pass through.

In a second inventive aspect, the invention provides a system comprising at least one LiDAR sensor and a glazing according to any of the embodiment of the first inventive aspect.

In an embodiment of the second inventive aspect, the at least one LiDAR sensor is arranged relative to the glazing such that at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor.

In some embodiments, the width and length of the at least one adhesive layer, the at least one additional glass layer and the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is adapted to the size of the field of view of the LiDAR sensor. Advantageously, it allows that the area of the additional layer and the layer of anti-reflective coating covers the smallest possible area of the stack.

In an embodiment, the at least one LiDAR sensor has an angle of installation a comprised in the range from 15° to 40°, preferably from 17° to 35°, or in the range from 80° to 90°, preferably from 82° to 86°, with respect to the glazing. Preferably, the angle of installation a is selected following the specific wavelength in order for that wavelength to be highly transmitted in an operative manner.

In an embodiment, the glazing comprises an Infrared reflecting film and/or an Infrared reflecting coating and the cutout of the Infrared reflecting film and/or the window of the Infrared reflecting coating is in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor.

In an embodiment, the at least one LiDAR sensor uses p-polarized light for object detection.

In a particular embodiment, the transmission of P-polarized light is maximum to about 90% in the particular wavelength of 905 and 1550 nm at angles of incidence from 0° to 70°.

In a third inventive aspect, the invention provides a method for manufacturing a glazing according to any of the embodiments of the first inventive aspect, the method comprising the following steps: a) providing a stack having a width w _s and a length l _s , the stack comprising at least two glass layers and at least one bonding layer, wherein the at least two glass layers comprises: a first glass layer having an exterior surface oriented towards the outside of the stack and an interior surface oriented towards the inside of the stack, and a second glass layer having an interior surface oriented towards the inside of the stack and an exterior surface oriented towards the outside of the stack, wherein the at least one bonding layer is located in between the at least two glass layers, b) providing at least one layer of anti-reflective coating on at least a portion of an additional glass layer, wherein the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is configured to transmit near infrared light having a wavelength in the range from 850 nm to 1550 nm, c) bonding with at least one adhesive layer the at least one additional glass layer to an exterior surface of the stack. The at least one additional glass layer comprises an interior surface oriented towards the stack and an exterior surface opposed to the interior surface.

In an embodiment, the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is provided on at least a portion of the interior surface of the additional glass layer. In said embodiment, the provision of the layer of anti-reflective coating on the interior surface of the additional glass layer is performed before the step of bonding the at least one additional glass layer to the exterior surface of the stack.

In an embodiment, the at least one layer of anti-reflective coating is provided on at least a portion of the exterior surface of the additional glass layer. In an embodiment, the provision of the layer of anti-reflective coating on the exterior surface of the additional glass layer is performed before the step of bonding the at least one additional glass layer to the exterior surface of the stack.

In an embodiment, the at least one additional glass layer is bonded on the exterior surface of the first glass layer.

In an embodiment, the at least one additional glass layer is bonded on the exterior surface of the second glass layer.

In an embodiment, the method comprises providing the at least one adhesive layer on the exterior surface of the stack to which the at least one adhesive layer is to be bonded.

In an embodiment, the method comprises providing the at least one adhesive layer on the interior surface of the at least one adhesive layer to be bonded to the exterior surface of the stack.

In an embodiment, the method comprises hot bending the glass layers of the stack and/or the at least one additional glass layer before step c).

In an embodiment, the method comprises cold bending at least one glass layer of the stack and/or the at least one additional glass layer. In an embodiment, the at least one additional glass layer is bent before step c) or during step c).

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be seen more clearly from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments provided only by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples in reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 This figure shows a cross section of a glazing according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 This figure shows a cross section of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 This figure shows a front view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4A-4B These figures show a cross section of a system according to embodiments of the invention.

Figure 5A-5B These figures show a cross section of a system according to embodiments of the invention.

Figure 6 This figure shows a cross section of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7A-7C These figures show a cross section of a system according to embodiments of the invention.

Figure 8 This figure shows a front view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 9 This figure shows a cross section of a system according to embodiments of the invention. Figure 10A-B These figures show a comparison between the performance of a standard laminated glazing and a laminated glazing from one embodiment of the invention regarding the percentage of light transmission in the wavelength range of 900 to 910 nm.

Figure 11A-D These figures show the comparison between the transmission spectrums of P-polarized light and unpolarized light at 905 nm and 1550 nm at range of angle of incidence from 0° to 85°, respectively of a standard laminated glazing and a laminated glazing of one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 12 This figure shows a cross section of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 13 This figure shows a cross section of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 14 This figure show the comparison between the level of transmission capabilities of a PVB adhesive layer and a TPU adhesive layer at 905 nm at range of angle of incidence from 0° to 85°.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a glazing, a system or a method to manufacture a glazing.

Figure 1 shows a cross section of an embodiment of a glazing (1) of the invention, wherein the glazing (1) comprises two glass layers (201, 202), a bonding layer (4), an adhesive layer (12), an additional glass layer (203) and a layer of anti-reflective coating (18).

The first glass layer (201) comprises an exterior surface (101) and an interior surface (102) and the second glass layer (202) comprises an interior surface (103) and an exterior surface (104). The first glass layer (201) is bonded together with the second glass layer (202) thanks to the bonding layer (4). Preferably, the bonding layer (4) of the embodiment of Figure 1 and the following embodiments described is PVB, PU or EVA, although other materials may be used for the bonding layer (4). Further in the present detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, the combination of the first glass layer (201), the bonding layer (4) and the second glass layer (202) is also called stack.

In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the additional glass layer (203) is bonded to the stack by means of the adhesive layer (12). The additional glass layer (203) comprises an interior surface (105) and an exterior surface (106).

In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the adhesive layer (12) is placed on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202). The adhesive layer (12) is located on the whole exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202). In other embodiments, the adhesive layer (12) may be placed on the exterior surface (101) of the first glass layer (201).

Finally, in the embodiment of Figure 1 , the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is arranged on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203). In that particular embodiment, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is located on the whole exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203).

The layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is configured to transmit near infrared light. Also, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) of the glazing of Figure 1 is configured for transmitting near infrared light having a wavelength in the range from 850 nm to 1550 nm; in preferred embodiments, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) of the glazing is configured for transmitting near infrared light having a specific wavelength such as 905 nm, 940 nm or 1550 nm.

The anti-reflective coating (18) design can be found in the teaching of the book from H. A. Macleod named Thin Film Optical Filters, Publ. Institute of Physics, Briston Philadelphia. 3 ^rd edition, 2001 . The fundamentals for designing any coating that allows transmission either in the visible light range or in the infrared or ultraviolet range are based on the combination of alternating dielectric layers having high and low indices of refraction. High index of refraction is known in the art being any number above 1.8, whereas low index of refraction is any number below 1 .6. Examples of typical high index of refraction are Nb2Os (2.35 and 2.15) and TiC>2 (2.30 and 2.19) and an example of a typical low index of refraction is SiC>2 (1.48 and 1.41). SiO _x N _y , in turn, could be tuned such that it could have either low, medium or high index of refraction (from 1.48 to 2.10) at the wavelength reference of 905 nm and 1550 respectively. Physical thicknesses of each layer also follow standard design strategy presented in the same book. The physical thickness has a relation between the optical thickness and the wavelength of interest.

In an embodiment, the two glass layers (201 , 202) of the stack comprise alkali aluminosilicate glass, soda lima clear glass, soda lime ultra-clear glass, solar green glass or borosilicate glass and the additional glass layer (203) is alkali aluminosilicate glass or borosilicate glass.

In an embodiment, the additional glass layer (203) has a thickness in the range from 0.4 to 2 mm, the adhesive layer (12) has a thickness in the range from 0.1 to 1.52 mm.

The glazing (1) may be bent.

In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the adhesive layer (12) is optical adhesive, such as OCA or OCR, or a bonding layer, such as PVB, TPU, EVA, or acoustic modified PVB.

In all embodiments depicted in the present document, the glazing (1) may be a windshield, a panoramic windshield, a sidelite window, or a backlite.

Figure 2 shows a cross section of an embodiment of a system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention comprising a glazing (1) according to the invention and one LiDAR (20).

In that particular embodiment, the glazing (1) comprises a stack as detailed in the embodiment of Figure 1 and one LiDAR sensor (20).

In the embodiment of Figure 2, the additional glass layer (203) is bonded by the adhesive layer (12) to a portion of the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202). In this embodiment, the width w _a and the length l _a of the additional glass layer (203) is considerably inferior than the width w _s and the length l _s of the stack. In this embodiment, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is located on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203). As schematically shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment the LiDAR sensor (20) is arranged relative to the glazing (1) such that the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20), the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20) being represented in the whole set of Figures of the present application by discontinued lines. In preferred embodiments, the width and length of the additional glass layer (203) and the layer of anti-reflective coating (18), are adapted to the size of the field of view of the LiDAR sensor.

In the embodiment of Figure 2, an obscuration area (6), preferably black paint, is located on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) surrounding the adhesive layer (12) and is also located at the opposite end of the stack. It should be noted that in embodiments not shown, the obscuration area (6) may be located on the interior surface (102) of the first glass layer (201).

Figure 3 depicts a front view of an embodiment of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention with one LiDAR sensor (20) located at a centered top portion of the glazing (1). In that embodiment, the LiDAR sensor (20) is surrounded by an obscuration area (6).

Figures 4A and 4B depict cross section views of embodiments of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention where the glazing (1) comprises a stack having the configuration described in previous embodiments of Figures 1 and 2, one adhesive layer (12), one additional glass layer (203) and one layer of anti-reflective coating (18). All of these layers are completely covering the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) of the stack, except for the layer of anti- reflective coating (18) which is covering the remaining surface of the additional glass layer (203) not covered by black paint (6).

In the embodiment of Figure 4A, the adhesive layer (12) is located on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) and bonds the additional glass layer (203) to the stack. The layer of anti-reflective coating (18) covers the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203).

In that embodiment, the obscuration area (6) is located on the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) and surrounds the LiDAR sensor (20) in order to hide electronic circuits, edges etc. Additionally, the obscuration area (6) may be applied either on the additional glass layer (203) where the anti-reflective coating (18) is located or onto the interior surface (103) of the second glass layer (202).

In the embodiment of Figure 4B, the adhesive layer (12) is located on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) and bonds the additional glass layer (203) to the stack. The layer of anti-reflective coating (18) covers the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203).

In that embodiment, the obscuration area (6) is located on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203).

Figures 5A and 5B show cross section views of embodiments of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention, where the glazing (1) comprises a stack having the same configuration as described in previous embodiments, one adhesive layer (12), one additional glass layer (203) and one layer of anti-reflective coating (18). In these embodiments, the adhesive layer (12) covers the complete exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) and bonds the additional glass layer (203) to the stack. The additional glass layer (203) has the same width and length as the stack.

In Figure 5A, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is located on a portion of the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203), such that the width of the layer of anti- reflective coating (18) is smaller than the width of the additional glass layer (203) and the length of the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is smaller than the length of the additional glass layer (203). Preferably, the dimensions of the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) are adapted to the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20). In this embodiment, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is surrounded by an obscuration area (6).

In Figure 5B, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is located on a portion of the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203), such that the width of the layer of anti- reflective coating (18) is smaller than the width of the additional glass layer (203) and the length of the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is smaller than the length of the additional glass layer (203). In this embodiment, the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is embedded in the adhesive layer (12). The layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is placed in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20). An obscuration area (6) is arranged on a portion of the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203).

Figure 6 depicts an embodiment of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention, the system (40) comprising a glazing (1) and a LiDAR sensor (20). The glazing (1) comprises a stack having two glass layers (201 , 202) bonded together with one bonding layer (4). An adhesive layer (12) is located on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202), bonding an additional glass layer (203) to the stack. A layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is provided on the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203). In the particular embodiment of Figure 6, the adhesive layer (12), the additional glass layer (203) and the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) have the same width and the same length, which is only a portion of the width and the length, respectively, of the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer

(202). Preferably, these three layers (18, 12, 203) have a size adapted to the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20), which is represented by discontinued lines. Also, an obscuration area (6), preferably black paint, is arranged on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202), surrounding the location where the additional glass layer

(203) is attached.

Figures 7A-7C show cross-sections of several embodiments of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention, each system (40) comprising a glazing (1) according to the first inventive aspect of the invention and a plurality of LiDAR sensors (20). Although two LiDAR sensors (20) are shown in these embodiments, it should be understood that any number of LiDAR sensors (20) can be placed along the length and/or the width of the glazing (1) of the invention.

Figure 7A depicts an embodiment having a stack as detailed in previous embodiments of the invention, namely having two glass layers (201 , 202) bonded by a bonding layer (4). The system (40) of Figure 7A comprises two additional glass layers (203), each having a width and a length smaller than the width and the length of the stack, respectively, and bonded to a portion of the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202) of the stack. Each additional glass layer (203) is bonded to the stack by an adhesive layer (12) and has a layer of anti-reflective coating (18) provided on its exterior surface (106). The LiDAR sensors (20) are placed each facing the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) of one additional glass layer (203). Although in the embodiment of Figure 7A the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is arranged on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layers (203), in other embodiments the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) may be arranged on the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203). This is shown in the embodiment of Figure 7B, which comprises two additional glass layers (203), one of the additional glass layers (203) having the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) on the exterior surface (106) and the other additional glass layer (203) having the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) on the interior surface (105).

In other embodiments, one layer of anti-reflective coating (18) may be arranged on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203) and another layer of anti- reflective coating (18) may be arranged on the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203). In other embodiments, more than one layer of anti-reflective coating (18) may be arranged on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203) and more than one anti-reflective may be arranged on the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203).

Figure 7C shows a cross section of another embodiment of a system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention, which comprises a glazing (1) according to the first inventive aspect of the invention and two LIDAR sensors (20). The present embodiment shows a glazing (1) comprising a stack as detailed previously, one adhesive layer (12) located on the entire exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202), one additional glass layer (203) bonded to the stack by the adhesive layer (12) and a layer of anti-reflective coating (18) provided on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203). Two obscuration areas (6) are also arranged on the exterior surface (106) of the additional glass layer (203).

Figure 8 depicts a front view of an embodiment of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention with six LIDAR sensors (20) located at the centered top and bottom portion of the glazing (1), at the top and bottom right side of the glazing (1) and at the top and bottom left side of the glazing (1). In that embodiment, each LIDAR sensor (20) is surrounded by an obscuration area (6).

Figure 9 shows a cross section view of one embodiment of the system (40) according to the second inventive aspect of the invention where the windshield (40) presents an angle of installation a and an angle of incidence p. The angle of installation a corresponds to the angle of inclination of the glazing (1) with respect to the orientation of the LiDAR sensor (20) which is parallel to a horizontal axis X-X’. The angle of incidence corresponds to the angle of penetration of a specific near infrared light into the LiDAR sensor (20) with respect to a horizontal axis Y-Y’ which is parallel to the axis X-X’. The angle of incidence p is directly dependent of the value of the angle of installation previously chosen. The smaller is the angle of installation a, the bigger is the angle of incidence p. The bigger is the angle of installation a, the smaller is the angle of incidence P.

In an embodiment of the system (40) of the invention, the LiDAR sensor (20) has an angle of installation a comprised in the range 15° to 40°, preferably 17° to 35°, or in the range 80 to 90°, preferably 82° to 86°, with respect to the glazing (1).

Figure 10 shows a comparison between the performance of a standard laminated glazing and the laminated glazing of one embodiment of the invention. The standard laminated glazing comprises two layers of 2.1 mm clear soda-lime glass bonded with one layer of 0.76 clear PVB, whereas the laminated glazing of the embodiment additionally comprises a 0.70 mm aluminosilicate glass coated with the AR (“anti-reflective”) coating. The Figures show transmission of light in the wavelength range of 900 to 910 nm at an angle of installation of 0° (Fig. 10A) and 65° (Fig. 10B). There is a significant increase in transmission from 89 % to 93 % average value at 0° and from 75 % to 85 % at 65°.

Although the stack of the embodiments shown above comprises two glass layers (201 , 202) and one bonding layer (4), the stack of the glazing (1) of the invention may include more than two glass layers (201 , 202) and/or more than one bonding layer (4). Also, the glazing (1) of the invention may comprise more than one additional glass layer (203) and/or more than one layer of anti-reflective coating (18) and/or more than one adhesive layer (12).

Figures 11 A, 11 B, 11 C, 11 D show the comparison between the transmission spectrums of P-polarized light and unpolarized light at 905 nm and 1550 nm at range of angle of incidence from 0° to 85°, respectively of a standard laminated glazing and a laminated glazing of one embodiment of the invention. Unpolarized light consists of two components: p-polarized light and s-polarized light. P- polarized light is not significantly reflected by the glass layer surfaces when the angle of incidence is at or near the Brewster angle. The Brewster's angle is an angle of incidence at which light with a particular polarization is perfectly transmitted through a surface. As shown in Figures 11 A through 11 D, the transmission of p-polarized light and unpolarized light is maximum to about 90% in the particular wavelengths of 905 nm and 1550 nm and at angles of incidence from 0° to 70°.

It is worth noting that some of the LiDAR sensors working in NIR range uses p-polarized light for object detection. Accordingly, it is important to optimize the transmission of p- polarized light at given range of angle of incidence which can be achieved with the help of anti-reflective coating optimized at operating wavelength of LiDAR at given range of angle of incidence by minimizing the back reflection specially at higher angle of incidence.

Figure 12 depicts an additional embodiment of the system (40), comprising a glazing (1) and a LiDAR sensor (20) keeping the NIR transmission in the LiDAR field of view. The glazing (1) comprises a stack having two glass layers (201 , 202) bonded together with one bonding layer (4). An adhesive layer (12) is located on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202), bonding an additional glass layer (203) to the stack. A layer of anti-reflective coating (18) is provided on the interior surface (105) of the additional glass layer (203). In the particular embodiment of Figure 12, the adhesive layer (12), the additional glass layer (203) and the layer of anti-reflective coating (18) have the same width and the same length, which is only a portion of the width and the length, respectively, of the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202). Preferably, these three layers (18, 12, 203) have a size adapted to the field of view of the LiDAR sensor (20), which is represented by discontinued lines. Also, an obscuration area (6), preferably black paint, is arranged on the exterior surface (104) of the second glass layer (202), surrounding the location where the additional glass layer (203) is attached.

In the embodiment of Figure 12, an Infrared reflecting element (45) which is a UCSF film (Ultra-Clear Solar Film) is arranged between the first (201) and second (202) glass layers to reduce the direct solar load while allowing visible light to pass. UCSF films are non- metallic multi-layer optical films that reflect infrared solar energy with minimal effect on visible light transmission. LICSF films reflect NIR while allowing visible light to pass through. The LICSF film (45) is disposed between two bonding layers (4). The LICSF film (45) comprises a cutout in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor to facilitate the IR light pass to the LiDAR sensor. The cutout is filled by the bonding layer material during lamination. In an additional embodiment not shown in the figures, the thickness of the LICSF film (45) may be compensated in the cutout area with one or several transparent plastic interlayers.

The embodiment illustrated in Figure 13 is similar to that of Figure 12, but instead of using the LICSF film as the Infrared reflecting element, an Infrared reflecting coating (30) is deposited on the interior surface (102, 103) of any of the first or second glass layers (201 , 202).

For the embodiments where the IRR reflecting element is a coating, the IRR coating (30) comprises a window (32) in the field of view of the LiDAR sensor for the light to pass to the LiDAR sensor (20). During manufacturing of the glazing, the window (32) may be created for example by masking or by laser ablation. In the embodiment depicted in Figure 13, the IRR coating (30) is deposited on the interior surface (103) of the second glass layer (202). In other embodiments, the IRR coating (30) is deposited on the interior surface (102) of the first glass layer (201).

In an embodiment, the glazing comprises an Infrared reflecting film (45), such as a UCSF film, arranged between the first (201) and second (202) glass layers and an Infrared reflecting coating (30) deposited on the interior surface (102) of the first glass layer (201) and/or on the interior surface (103) of the second glass layer (202).

Figure 14 shows a comparative analysis of the level of transmission of a PVB adhesive layer and a TPU adhesive layer. It is clear from the graph that a TPU interlayer with a 0.1 mm thickness, provides a superior transmission at 905 nm compared to a 0.38 mm PVB layer and allows to reduce the thickness of the adhesive layer.