TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a low-e coating with daylight transmittance that is used in heat-insulating glasses and coated glass.

PRIOR ART

One of the factors that differentiate the optical properties of the glasses is the coating applications made on the glass surface. One of the coating applications is the magnetic field- supported sputtering method in a vacuum environment. It is a frequently used method in the production of architectural and automotive coatings with low-e properties. The visible, nearinfrared, and infrared transmittance and reflection values of the glasses coated with the said method can be obtained at the targeted levels.

Apart from the transmittance and reflection values, the selectivity value is also an important parameter in coated glasses. Selectivity is defined as the ratio of the visible zone transmittance value to the solar factor in ISO 9050 (2003) standard. The selectivity values of the coatings can be kept at the targeted levels with the number of Ag layers, the type of nucleating layer used, and the parametric optimizations of the layers.

The invention with publication number US2013216810 refers to a low-e coated glass having an infrared reflective layer comprising silver positioned between two contact layers. There is an upper coating on the said low-e coated glass. The upper coating comprises at least one zirconium oxide or an essentially metallic layer. With the top layer, the stability of the coating is improved without giving up the desired optical characteristic structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a low-e coated glass with intermediate daylight transmittance to bring new advantages to the related technical field.

One object of the invention is to present a low-e coated glass with intermediate transmittance. One object of the invention is to present a low-e coated glass with intermediate transmittance and high external reflection.

Another object of the invention is to present a low-e coated glass with high external reflection.

An object of the invention is to present a low-e coated glass with a high difference between the external reflection and the internal reflection.

The present invention is a low-e coated glass to realize all the purposes that are mentioned above and will emerge from the following detailed description. Accordingly, the said invention is characterized in that the coating side reflection a* value is in the range (0) - (-5), the glass side reflection a* value is in the range (-6) - (-17), the glass side reflection b* value is in the range (-7) - (-10) and the internal reflection value is in the range 22-30%, and the external reflection value is in the range 33-41% in double-glass applications, and in that it comprises the following sequence outwardly from the glass, respectively:

- A first dielectric layer comprising at least one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x ,

- A blocking layer comprising at least one of NiCr, NiCrO _x , Ti, TiO _x , ZnAIO _x , ZnO _x

- A second dielectric layer comprising at least one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x

- A third dielectric layer comprising at least one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , TiO _x , ZnAIO _x , ZnO _x

- A fourth dielectric layer comprising less than one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x

- A nucleating layer comprising at least one of NiCr, NiCrO _x , TiO _x , ZnSnO _x , ZnAIO _x , ZnO _x

An infrared reflective layer comprising silver

- A barrier layer comprising at least one of NiCr, NiCrOx, TiO _x , ZnSnOx, ZnAIOx, ZnO _x

- An upper dielectric structure comprising at least two of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiZrO _x , TiO _x , TiNx, ZrNx.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is that the upper dielectric layer comprises the following:

- A fifth dielectric layer comprising at least one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y

- A sixth dielectric layer comprising at least one of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y

- A protective layer comprising at least one of TiZrOx, Si _x N _y , SiO _x , TiO _x , SiO _x N _y . A preferred embodiment of the invention is that the total thickness of the first dielectric layer, the second dielectric layer, the third dielectric layer, and the fourth dielectric layer is between 58 nm and 138 nm to obtain the color green.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is that the thickness of the upper dielectric structure is between 37 nm - 75 nm to obtain the color green.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is that the thickness of a first dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y is between 10 nm - 30 nm,

The thickness of a blocking layer comprising NiCr

The thickness of a second dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y is between 15 nm - 38 nm

The thickness of a third dielectric layer comprising ZnAIO _x is between 8 nm - 25 nm

The thickness of a fourth dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y is between 25 nm - 45 nm

The thickness of a nucleating layer comprising ZnAIO _x is between 17 nm - 33 nm

The thickness of an infrared reflective layer comprising Ag is between 8 nm - 23 nm

The thickness of a barrier layer comprising NiCrO _x is between 1 nm - 10 nm The thickness of an upper dielectric structure comprising at least two of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y is between 37 nm - 75 nm.

A preferred embodiment of the invention

- A first dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y A blocking layer comprising NiCr

- A second dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y A third dielectric layer comprising ZnAIO _x

- A fourth dielectric layer comprising Si _x N _y

- A nucleating layer comprising ZnAIO _x

An infrared reflective layer comprising Ag

- A barrier layer comprising NiCrO _x

- An upper dielectric structure comprising at least two of Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A general view of the low-e layer sequence is given in Figure 1 .

REFERENCE NUMBERS GIVEN IN THE FIGURES

10 Glass

20 Low-e coating

21 First dielectric layer

22 Blocking layer

23 Second dielectric layer

24 Third dielectric layer

25 Fourth dielectric layer

26 Nucleating layer

27 Infrared reflective layer

28 Barrier layer

29 Upper dielectric structure

291 Fifth dielectric layer

292 Sixth dielectric layer

293 Protective layer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the low-e coated (20) glass (10) according to the invention is explained with examples that do not have any limiting effect only for a better understanding of the subject.

The production of low-e coated (20) glasses (10) for architecture and automotive is carried out by the “sputtering” method. The present invention relates generally to single silver low-e coated (20) glasses (10) used as heat insulating glass (10) with intermediate daylight transmittance and high heat treatment strength, the content of the said low-e coating (20), and application thereof. The low-e coated (20) glass (10) according to the invention can be used in heat glass units and laminated structures for the architectural and automotive sectors.

A low-e coating (20) consisting of a plurality of metal, metal oxide, and/or metal nitride/oxynitride layers located on the surface of the glass (10) using the sputtering method is developed to obtain a glass (10) with the low-e coating (20) with an intermediate visible light transmittance that is heat-treatable, has solar control feature and to be applied to the surface of a glass (10) in this invention. The said layers are deposited on each other in a vacuum, respectively. As heat treatment at least one and/or several of the treatments including but not limited to tempering, partial tempering, annealing, bending, lamination, laser, and instantaneous beam radiation (flashlamp) and other heat treatments can be used in combination. The low-e coated (20) glass (10) with solar control according to the invention can be used as architectural and automotive glass (10).

The following data has been determined as a result of experimental studies to improve a low- e coating (20) sequence with solar control that is heat-treatable both in terms of ease of production and optical properties.

The low-e coating (20) according to the invention comprises an infrared reflective layer (27) that allows transmission of the solar energy spectrum from the visible region (hereinafter referred to as % T _ViS ) at the targeted level and reflects the thermal radiation in the infrared region. The Ag layer is used as the infrared reflective layer (27) and the heat emission is low.

The refraction indices of all layers in the low-e coated (20) glass (10) according to the invention were determined using computational methods over optical constants obtained from single layer measurements. These refraction indices are refraction index data at 550 nm.

The optical performance term mentioned in the invention refers to the solar energy transmittance, visible region light transmittance, internal and external reflection values, and L-a *-b* color values of the glass (10) with a low-e coating (20).

The first dielectric layer (21 ) is used to contact the glass (10) in the low-e coating (20) according to the invention. The said first dielectric layer (21 ) comprises at least one of the materials Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x . The first dielectric layer (21 ) comprises Si _x N _y in the preferred embodiment. The first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y serves as the diffusion barrier to inhibit the migration of the alkali ion, which is facilitated at high temperatures. Thus, the first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y supports the strength of the low-e coating (20) in the heat treatment processes. The change interval for the refraction index of the first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y is between 2.00 and 2.15. The change interval for the refraction index of the first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y is 2.02 to 2.12 in the preferred structure. The thickness of the first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y is between 10 nm - 30 nm. The thickness of the first dielectric layer (21) comprising Si _x N _y is between 15 nm - 25 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the first dielectric layer (21 ) comprising Si _x N _y is between 17 nm - 23 nm in an even more preferred embodiment. The fact that the first dielectric layer (21) comprising Si _x N _y is in the specified thicknesses allows the low-e coated (2) glass (10) to be better tempered. If the first dielectric layer (21) comprising Si _x N _y in contact with the glass (10) is thinner than the specified thickness values, there may be deteriorations in the low-e coating (20) during tempering.

A blocking layer (22) extends on the first dielectric layer (21). A second dielectric layer (23) is also positioned on the blocking layer (22). The first dielectric layer (21 ) and the second dielectric layer (23) are preferably composed of the same materials.

At least one of NiCr, NiCrO _x , Ti, TiO _x , ZnAIO _x , ZnO _x is used as the said blocking layer (22). NiCr is used in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the blocking layer (22) is between 1 nm - 10 nm. The thickness of the blocking layer (22) is between 1 nm - 7 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the blocking layer (22) is between 1 nm - 4 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

The said second dielectric layer (23) comprises at least one of the materials Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x . The second dielectric layer (23) comprises Si _x N _y in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the second dielectric layer (23) comprising Si _x N _y is between 15 nm - 38 nm. The thickness of the second dielectric layer (23) comprising Si _x N _y is between 20 nm - 33 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the second dielectric layer (23) comprising Si _x N _y is between 24 nm - 29 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

The positioning of the blocking layer (22) comprising NiCr between the first dielectric layer (21 ) and the second dielectric layer (23) is critical in determining the optical performance of the low-e coated (20) glass (10). By positioning the blocking layer (22) comprising NiCr therein, a low-e coating (20) with intermediate transmittance can be obtained. In addition, the position of the blocking layer (22) comprising NiCr is effective in determining the internal and external reflection values of the low-e coated (20) glass (10). Thanks to positioning the blocking layer (22) close to the glass (10) and the thickness thereof, the internal reflection values of the low-e coated (20) glass (10) can be reduced to the desired levels. The third dielectric layer (24) is positioned on the second dielectric layer (23). The said third dielectric layer (24) comprises at least one of SiOxN, SiN TiO _x , ZnAIOx, ZnO _x . It comprises ZnAIO _x in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the third dielectric layer (24) is preferably between 8 nm - 25 nm. The thickness of the third dielectric layer (24) is between 10 nm - 22 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the third dielectric layer (24) is most preferably between 13 nm - 19 nm.

The fourth dielectric layer (25) is positioned on the third dielectric layer (24). The said fourth dielectric layer (25) comprises at least one of the materials Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x . The fourth dielectric layer (25) comprises Si _x N _y in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the fourth dielectric layer (25) comprising Si _x N _y is between 25 nm - 45 nm. The thickness of the fourth dielectric layer (25) comprising Si _x N _y is between 29 nm - 41 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the fourth dielectric layer (25) comprising Si _x N _y is between 32 nm - 38 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

A nucleating layer (26) is positioned on the fourth dielectric layer (25). At least one of NiCr, NiCrO _x , TiO _x , ZnSnOx, ZnAIOx, ZnO _x is used as the nucleating layer (26). The nucleating layer (26) comprises ZnAIOx in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the nucleating layer (26) is between 17 nm - 33 nm. The thickness of the nucleating layer (26) is between 20 nm - 30 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the nucleating layer (26) is between 22 nm - 28 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

The total thickness of the second dielectric layer (23), the third dielectric layer (24), the fourth dielectric layer (25), and the nucleating layer (26) is between 92 nm - 1 12 nm. Preferably, the total thickness of the specified layers is between 95 nm - 108 nm. The total thickness of the most preferably specified layers is between 98 nm - 105 nm. The thicknesses of the second dielectric layer (23), the third dielectric layer (24), the fourth dielectric layer (25) and the nucleating layer (26) are different from each other. The characteristics (crystal structure and refractive index) and thickness of these layers used are optimized to achieve the targeted optical performance.

An infrared reflective layer (27) is positioned on the nucleating layer (26). The thickness of the said infrared reflective layer (27) is between 8 nm - 23 nm. In the preferred embodiment, the thickness of the infrared reflective layer 27 is between 10 nm - 20 nm. The thickness of the most preferably infrared reflective layer (27) is between 13 nm - 17 nm. A barrier layer (28) is positioned on the infrared reflective layer (27). At least one of NiCr, NiCrOx, TiOx, ZnSnOx, ZnAIO _x , ZnO _x is used as the barrier layer (28). The barrier layer (28) comprises NiCrOx in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the barrier layer (28) is between 1 nm - 10 nm. The thickness of the barrier layer (28) is between 1 nm - 8 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the barrier layer (28) is preferably between 1 nm - 5 nm.

The oxidation level of the barrier layer (28) comprising NiCrOx used in the low-e coating (20) is kept low. Thus, the optical performance, especially the transmittance of the low-e coating (20) can be kept at an intermediate level. In addition, keeping the oxidation level of the barrier layer (28) low is effective on the electrical performance of the low-e coating (20) and is critical in terms of not disrupting the structure of the infrared reflective layer (27).

An upper dielectric structure (29) is positioned on the barrier layer (28). The upper dielectric structure (29) comprises at least two of the materials Si _x N _y , SiO _x N _y , ZnSnOx, TiZrO _x , TiO _x , TiN _x , ZrN _x . The upper dielectric structure (29) comprises the fifth dielectric layer (291) and the sixth dielectric layer (292) positioned on it. At least one of the fifth dielectric layer (291) and the sixth dielectric layer (292) is in the form of oxide or oxynitride, and one is in the form of nitride. They can be made of oxides, oxynitrides, and nitrides of the same material, but also different materials compatible with each other can be selected. SiO _x N _y is used in one of the fifth dielectric layer (291 ) and the sixth dielectric layer (292) and Si _x N _y is used in the other in the preferred embodiment. Si _x N _y is used as the fifth dielectric layer (291) and SiO _x N _y as the sixth dielectric layer (292) for an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

The thickness of the fifth dielectric layer (291 ) is between 23 nm - 41 nm. The thickness of the fifth dielectric layer (291) is between 26 nm - 38 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the fifth dielectric layer (291 ) is between 29 nm - 35 nm in an even more preferred embodiment. The thickness of the sixth dielectric layer (292) is between 13 nm - 26 nm. The thickness of the sixth dielectric layer (292) is between 15 nm - 26 nm in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of the sixth dielectric layer (292) is between 17 nm - 23 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

Optionally, there is a thin protective layer (293) in the upper dielectric structure (29), which is used as the last layer of the low-e coating (20) to prevent the coating from being affected by external factors. At least one of TiZrOx, Si _x N _y , SiO _x , TiO _x , SiO _x N _y is used as the protective layer (293). TiO _x is used as the protective layer (293) in a preferred embodiment of the invention. The thickness of the protective layer (293) is between 1 nm - 8 nm. The thickness of the protective layer (293) is between 1 nm - 6 nm in an even more preferred embodiment. The thickness of the protective layer (293) is between 1 nm - 4 nm in an even more preferred embodiment.

Thanks to the low-e coating (20) applied to the glass surface as described above, the internal reflection value of the resulting low-e coated (20) glass (10) is in the range of 22% to 30% in double-glass applications (known as IGU in the art). In the preferred application, the internal reflection value of the low-e coated (20) glass (10) is in the range of 24% to 28%. The external reflection value of the low-e coated (20) glass (10) is between 33% and 41%. In the preferred application, the external reflection value of the low-e coated (20) glass (10) is between 35% and 39%.

Color performance values related to 6 mm glass thickness double-glass application obtained by the low-e coating (20) realized in the described sequence and way are explained below.

The glass (10) side, i.e. the uncoated side reflection a* value varies between the (-6) - (-17). The glass (10) side reflection a* value varies between (-8) - (-15) in the preferred embodiment of the invention. Even more preferably, the glass (10) side reflection a* value varies from (-10) - (-13).

The coating side reflection a* value is between (0) - (-5). The coating side reflection a* value varies between (0) - (-3) in the preferred embodiment of the invention. Even more preferably, the coating side reflection a* value varies from (0) - (-1).

The glass (10) side reflection b* value varies from (-7) - (-10). The glass (10) side reflection b* value varies between (-5) - (-8) in the preferred embodiment of the invention. Even more preferably, the glass (10) side reflection b* value varies from (-2) - (-5).

The internal reflection color values, especially a* color value close to zero, are effective in preventing the formation of the color red in low-e coated (20) glasses (10). By keeping the coating side a* value close to 0 in low-e coated (20) glass (10) according to the invention, neutrality is obtained and the color red is prevented in low-e coated (20) glass (10). In addition, by keeping the coating side transmittance a* and b* values close to 0, it is ensured that the color green is more visible on the uncoated side. The transmittance a* value is between -3.5 and -1.5 in one embodiment of the invention. The transmittance a* value is between -3.0 and -2.0 in another embodiment of the invention. The transmittance a* value is between -2.8 and -2.2 in the preferred embodiment of the invention. The total thickness of the dielectric layers positioned between the infrared reflective layer (27) and the glass (10) and the thickness differences of these dielectric layers within themselves are optimized to obtain low-e coated (20) glass (10) with a targeted color green.

In addition to the fact that the coating side and the glass (10) side a* values are critical to obtain the targeted color green in the low-e coated (20) glass (10) according to the invention, the internal and external reflection values of the low-e coated (20) glass (10) are also important. The high external reflection increases the dominance of the color green in the low- e coated (20) glass (10). Similarly, by keeping the coating side and the glass (10) side b* values close to “0” and in the negative region, the low-e coated (20) glass (10) color is prevented from shifting to red, and the color green is ensured to be dominant by keeping the color blue at a minimum. With the optimization of the layer sequence and thicknesses in the low-e coating (20) according to the invention, the glass (10) side external reflection value could be obtained in the aforementioned intervals and the color green is made dominant.

The thicknesses of the fifth dielectric layer (291) and the sixth dielectric layer (292) and the materials used are effective in ensuring that the coating side a* value is close to neutrality. In addition, the thickness of the barrier layer (28) and keeping the oxygen level low affect the coating side a* value to be neutral.

The oxygen level of the dielectric layers and the barrier layer (28) below and above the infrared reflective layer (27) ensures that the external reflection is high and the internal reflection is low. The increase in the oxygen level reduces the external reflection and increases the internal reflection, which is undesirable for the low-e coating (20) according to the invention. Therefore, it is important to keep the oxygen level used low. In this way, it contributes to the achievement of the targeted color green.

The scope of protection of the invention is specified in the attached claims and cannot be limited to those explained for sampling purposes in this detailed description. It is evident that a person skilled in the art may exhibit similar embodiments in light of the above-mentioned facts without departing from the main theme of the invention.