Method of making heat treated coated article using diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating and protective film
View Patent ↗A method of making a heat treated (HT) coated article to be used in shower door applications, window applications, or any other suitable applications where transparent coated articles are desired. For example, certain embodiments of this invention relate to a method of making a coated article including a step of heat treating a glass substrate coated with at least a layer of or including diamond-like carbon (DLC) and an overlying protective film thereon. In certain example embodiments, the protective film may be of or include an oxide of zinc. Following and/or during heat treatment (e.g., thermal tempering, or the like) the protective film may be removed. Other embodiments of this invention relate to the pre-HT coated article, or the post-HT coated article.
1. A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:
providing a glass substrate;
forming at least one layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) on the glass substrate;
forming a removable protective film on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising DLC, the removable protective film comprising first and second inorganic layers, the first inorganic layer comprising zinc oxide and being located between the layer comprising DLC and the second inorganic layer;
heat treating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising DLC, wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate to temperature(s) sufficient for thermal tempering, heat strengthening, and/or heat bending, and wherein the first inorganic layer comprising zinc oxide and the second inorganic layer substantially remain on the glass substrate protecting the layer comprising DLC during said heat treating; and
removing the first inorganic layer comprising zinc oxide and the second inorganic layer after said heat treating.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second inorganic layer of the removable protective film comprises zinc oxide.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein, in the protective film prior to the heat treating, the second layer comprising zinc oxide comprises more oxygen than does the first layer comprising zinc oxide.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in the protective film, the first inorganic layer is more metallic than is the second inorganic layer.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first inorganic layer is from about 2,000-15,000 Å thick, and the second inorganic layer is from about 500-5,000 Å thick and is thinner than the first inorganic layer.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first inorganic layer comprises ZnO y and the second inorganic layer comprises ZnO x , where x>y.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC is formed via an ion beam.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the protective film is formed on the glass substrate via sputtering.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a barrier layer comprising silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride on the glass substrate so as to be located between at least the glass substrate and the layer comprising DLC.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon using at least temperature(s) of at least 550 degrees C.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon using at least temperature(s) of at least 580 degrees C.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC comprises amorphous DLC and has more sp 3 carbon-carbon bonds than sp 2 carbon-carbon bonds.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least 10 GPa.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least 20 GPa.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC has a density of at least about 2.7 gm/cm 3 , and wherein the layer comprising DLC is hydrogenated.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC is hydrogenated.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coated article is substantially transparent and is used as a shower door.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein after said removing step at least part of the layer comprising DLC is exposed so as to be an outermost layer of the coated article.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first inorganic layer of the protective film is in direct contact with the layer comprising DLC.
20. A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:
providing a glass substrate;
forming at least one layer comprising carbon on the glass substrate;
forming a removable protective film on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising carbon, the removable protective film comprising first and second inorganic layers, the first inorganic layer comprising zinc oxide and being located between the layer comprising DLC and the second inorganic layer;
heat treating the glass substrate with the layer comprising carbon and the protective film including the first and second inorganic layers thereon so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising carbon, wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate to temperature(s) sufficient for thermal tempering, heat strengthening, and/or heat bending; and
removing the protective film, including at least parts of the first and second inorganic layers, after said heat treating.
21. A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:
providing a glass substrate;
forming at least one layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) on the glass substrate;
forming a removable protective film on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising DLC, the removable protective film comprising a first layer comprising zinc oxide and a second layer comprising zinc oxide, wherein the first layer comprising zinc oxide is more metallic than is the second layer comprising zinc oxide, and wherein the first layer comprising zinc oxide is between the layer comprising DLC and the second layer comprising zinc oxide;
heat treating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising DLC, wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate to temperature(s) sufficient for thermal tempering, heat strengthening, and/or heat bending; and
removing at least part of the protective film comprising zinc during and/or after said heat treating.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the removable protective film is formed on the glass substrate via sputtering.
23. The method of claim 21 , further comprising forming a barrier layer comprising silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride on the glass substrate so as to be located between at least the glass substrate and the layer comprising DLC.
24. The method of claim 21 , wherein the heat treating comprises heating the glass substrate with the layer comprising DLC and the protective film thereon using at least temperature(s) of at least 580 degrees C.
25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the layer comprising DLC comprises amorphous DLC and has more sp 3 carbon-carbon bonds than sp 2 carbon-carbon bonds.
26. The method of claim 21 , wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least 10 GPa.
27. The method of claim 21 , wherein the layer comprising DLC is hydrogenated.