Solar control coatings with subcritical copper

1. A coated article having a tinted appearance in reflection and/or transmission, comprising:

a substrate; and

a solar control coating, wherein the solar control coating comprises:

a first dielectric layer;

a subcritical metallic layer having discontinuous metallic regions, wherein the subcritical metallic layer comprises copper having an effective thickness between 8 Å and 36 Å, and silver having an effective thickness between 10 Å and 16 Å, and

a second dielectric layer over the subcritical metallic layer.

2. The article of claim 1 wherein the solar control coating further comprises a primer positioned between the second dielectric layer and the subcritical metallic layer and is deposited directly onto the subcritical metallic layer, wherein the primer is selected from titanium, silicon-aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, alloys containing nickel and chromium, cobalt alloys, alloys containing cobalt and chromium, copper, aluminum, silicon, nickel-chromium alloy, zirconium, mixtures thereof, and alloys thereof, and wherein the primer is deposited as a metal and subsequently oxidized.

3. The article of claim 2 , wherein the primer is deposited as a metal and subsequently oxidized.

4. The article of claim 2 , wherein the primer is titanium.

5. The article of claim 2 , wherein the primer further comprises nickel and chromium.

6. The article of claim 2 , wherein the primer layer deposited over the subcritical layer extends into gaps of the subcritical metal.

7. The article of claim 6 , wherein the primer layer deposited over the subcritical layer contacts the first dielectric layer.

8. The article of claim 1 wherein the article consists of the substrate, the solar control coating and a protective coating over the second dielectric layer.

9. The article of claim 8 , wherein the protective coating comprises titania, silica, alumina, or a combination thereof.

10. The article of claim 1 , wherein the article further comprises a protective coating over the second dielectric layer.

11. The article of claim 1 , wherein the second dielectric layer comprises a zinc oxide layer, and a zinc stannate layer over the zinc oxide layer.

12. The article of claim 1 , wherein the first dielectric layer or the second dielectric layer comprises a metal or a metal alloy, wherein the metal or the metal alloy is an oxide, nitride, or oxynitride.

13. The article of claim 12 , wherein metal oxides include titanium, hafnium, zirconium, niobium, zinc, bismuth, lead, indium, tin, or mixtures thereof.

14. The article of claim 1 , wherein the first dielectric layer or the second dielectric layer is a zinc/tin alloy oxide.

15. A method of tinting or coloring an article without adding a special colorant to a glass batch comprising:

providing a clear float glass;

depositing a first dielectric layer over the clear float glass;

depositing a subcritical metallic layer over the first dielectric layer, the subcritical metallic layer comprised of a subcritical silver layer and a subcritical copper layer; and

depositing a second dielectric layer over a primer layer thereby forming a tinted or colored article.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the primer layer comprises a metal.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the metal for the primer layer comprises titanium.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the first dielectric layer comprises zinc-tin oxides or zinc oxide.

19. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the second dielectric layer comprises a zinc-tin oxide or zinc oxide.

20. The method according to claim 15 , wherein effective thickness of the copper subcritical layer is between 8 Å and 36 Å, and the effective thickness of the silver subcritical layer is in between 10 Å and 16 Å.