Abstract: A liner for a sputtering chamber is provided. The liner is adapted to reduce spalling of sputtered coating (overcoat) from interior surfaces of the chamber. The liner can be mounted adjacent a selected interior surface of the chamber. The liner is preferably removable. Also provided are sputtering chambers in which the present liners are mounted, and sputtering methods wherein the present liners are used.

Abstract: The present invention relates to plasma spraying systems and their methods of use in the manufacturing of rotary sputtering targets. More specifically, the invention relates to plasma spraying systems that coordinate and facilitate the rotation and the lateral or longitudinal movement of the sputtering target, thereby providing a uniform application of coating to the target. These plasma spraying systems may also produce a stable and secure coating layer by controlling the deposition of various particle sizes emitted by the plasma spraying system and/or removing dust from the target before a coating is applied. The present invention may also include a vacuum device with an adjustable exhaust duct that assists in the reduction or elimination of oxygen or other atmospheric gas backstreaming into the vacuum chamber.

Abstract: A coater having a substrate cleaning device is disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of processing substrates in a coater equipped with a substrate cleaning device. The substrate cleaning device comprises an ion gun (i.e., an ion source) that is positioned beneath a path of substrate travel (e.g., beneath a substrate support) extending through the coater and that is adapted for treating a bottom major surface of a substrate. Certain embodiments involve an upward coating apparatus that is further along the path of substrate travel than the substrate cleaning device. In some embodiments of this nature, the upward coating apparatus is configured for depositing a photocatalytic coating upwardly onto the bottom major surface of the substrate. Certain embodiments of the invention involve a downward coating apparatus, wherein the substrate cleaning device is further along the path of substrate travel than the downward coating apparatus.

Abstract: A sputtering target may include: a) a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputter power source; and b) an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing, the sputterable material including a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc, the zinc and the second metal being present in the sputterable material in metallic form and arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc so that the zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in a substantially non-alloyed form.

Abstract: The invention provides methods and equipment for depositing films. In certain embodiments, there is provided a deposition chamber having a substrate-coating region and an electrode-cleaning region. In these embodiments, an electrode is positioned in the deposition chamber and has an interior cavity in which first and second magnet systems are disposed. In certain embodiments, there is provided a method for depositing films onto substrates using a deposition chamber of the described nature. The invention also provides electrode assemblies for film-deposition equipment. In certain embodiments, the electrode assembly comprises a rotatable electrode (optionally having an outer coating of carbon or the like) having an interior cavity, with stationary first and second generally-opposed magnet systems being disposed in this interior cavity.

Abstract: The present invention relates to self-cleaning reversible window assemblies comprising one or more photocatalytic layers deposited on two generally opposed major surfaces of a transparent substrate. When the major surfaces are exposed to ultraviolet radiation, such as that present in sunlight, the photocatalytic layers chemically degrade organic contaminants deposited on the surfaces of the substrate. The self-cleaning reversible window assemblies of the present invention are reversible thereby allowing for either of the opposed major surfaces to be exposed to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

Abstract: The invention provides a haze-resistant temperable coating which desirably includes an inner dielectric layer, a first silver layer; an intermediate dielectric stack a second silver layer, and an outer dielectric layer. The intermediate dielectric stack may have alternating layers of a first dielectric and a second dielectric, with each of the alternating layers having an optical thickness of no more than about 450 A or a physical thickness of no more than about 250 A. In a preferred coating, the first dielectric has an index of refraction between about 90% and 110% of that of the second dielectric and the first and second dielectric have different microstructures to limit crystal growth therebetween during tempering.

Abstract: A pneumatic handling and recoating apparatus for handling workpieces, such as glass, is provided. The apparatus utilizes a holding device operatively connected to a vacuum assembly. The holding device engages workpieces by vacuum and subsequently releases them by a burst of gas. The burst of gas also facilitates the application of a coating material, such as a stain-retardant agent, to a workpiece upon release from the holding device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetron sputtering system using a gas distribution system which also serves as a source of anodic charge to generate plasma field. The sputtering system is comprised of a vacuum chamber, a cathode target of sputterable material, a power source which supplies positive and negative charge, and a gas distribution system. The gas distribution system may comprise a simple perforated gas delivery member, or it may comprise a perforated gas delivery member with an attached conductive anodic surface. The gas delivery member may also contain an inner conduit with further perforations which serves to baffle flow of the sputtering gas. Gas flow may be regulated within discrete portions of the gas distribution system. The anodic surfaces of the gas distribution system are cleaned through the action of plasma and gas flow, creating a more stable plasma and reducing the need for maintenance.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for useful for protecting a substrate bearing a coating are provided. A separator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a film carrying a plurality of particles Each particle preferably has a covered area adhered to the film and an exposed area that is larger than the covered area.

Abstract: A glass article which has a water-sheeting coating and a method of applying coatings to opposed sides of a substrate are described. In one embodiment, a water-sheeting coating 20 comprising silica is sputtered directly onto an exterior surface of the glass. The exterior face of this water-sheeting coating is substantially non-porous but has an irregular surface. This water-sheeting coating causes water applied to the coated surface to sheet, making the glass article easier to clean and helping the glass stay clean longer. In one method of the invention, interior and exterior surfaces of a glass sheet are cleaned. Thereafter, the interior surface of the sheet of glass is coated with a reflective coating by sputtering, in sequence, at least one dielectric layer, at least one metal layer, and at least one dielectric layer. The exterior surface of the glass is coated with a water-sheeting coating by sputtering silica directly onto the exterior surface of the sheet of glass.

Abstract: A glass article which has a water-sheeting coating and a method of applying coatings to opposed sides of a substrate are described. In one embodiment, a water-sheeting coating 20 comprising silica is sputtered directly onto an exterior surface of the glass. The exterior face of this water-sheeting coating is substantially non-porous but has an irregular surface. This water-sheeting coating causes water applied to the coated surface to sheet, making the glass article easier to clean and helping the glass stay clean longer. In one method of the invention, interior and exterior surfaces of a glass sheet are cleaned. Thereafter, the interior surface of the sheet of glass is coated with a reflective coating by sputtering, in sequence, at least one dielectric layer, at least one metal layer, and at least one dielectric layer. The exterior surface of the glass is coated with a water-sheeting coating by sputtering silica directly onto the exterior surface of the sheet of glass.

Abstract: The invention provides thin film coatings that have a transparent base layer. For example, the invention provides low-emissivity coatings with a transparent base layer. In certain embodiments, a silicon dioxide base layer is used. Methods of producing thin film coatings having a transparent base layer are provided as well. In one embodiment, sputter deposition is utilized to produce these coatings.

Abstract: The invention provides niobium-titanium films, coatings (e.g., low-emissivity coatings) comprising one or more niobium-titanium films, and substrates bearings such coatings. Methods of depositing niobium-titanium films are also provided.

Abstract: A substrate carrying a temporary protective cover and related methods of producing and processing substrates are described. In one embodiment, a substrate bears a hydrophilic coating carrying a temporary protective cover that protects the hydrophilic coating against contamination but that can readily be readily removed from the hydrophilic coating by washing with a given washing fluid.

Abstract: A substrate carrying a temporary protective cover and related methods of producing and processing substrates are described. In one embodiment, a substrate has a durable exterior surface bearing a temporary protective cover that protects the durable surface against contamination but that can readily be readily removed from the durable surface by washing with a given washing fluid.

Abstract: The invention provides a substrate (e.g., a glass pane) having generally opposed first and second major surfaces. At least one of these major surfaces bears a functional coating and has a peripheral region that is substantially free of the functional coating. Another embodiment provides a multiple-pane insulating glass unit comprising two spaced-apart panes and a spacer joining confronting, inner peripheral surfaces of the panes. At least one of the panes has a coated outer surface. This coated outer surface has a peripheral region that is substantially free of the coating. The invention also provides methods for treating a coated substrate that has generally opposed first and second major surfaces each bearing a functional coating. The coating is substantially removed from a peripheral region of the first major surface. Likewise, the coating is substantially removed from a peripheral region of the second major surface.

Abstract: A target for use in sputtering may include a backing adapted to be operatively connected to a sputtering power source and an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing The sputterable material comprises a mixture of zinc and a second metal having a melting point less than that of the zinc. The zinc and the second metal are present in the sputterable material in metallic form and are arranged as discrete volumes of the second metal in a matrix of zinc. This target may be manufactured by simultaneously plasma spraying zinc metal and the second metal onto a backing to create an outer layer of a sputterable material carried by the backing. The target may be used by placing the target and a substrate in a sputtering chamber and applying power to the target while maintaining in the sputtering chamber a reactive atmosphere comprising oxygen, thereby depositing on a surface of the substrate a film comprising oxides of zinc and the second metal.

Abstract: The invention provides a haze-resistant temperable coating which desirably includes an inner dielectric layer, a first silver layer; an intermediate dielectric stack a second silver layer, and an outer dielectric layer. The intermediate dielectric stack may have alternating layers of a first dielectric and a second dielectric, with each of the alternating layers having an optical thickness of no more than about 450 A or a physical thickness of no more than about 250 A. In a preferred coating, the first dielectric has an index of refraction between about 90% and 110% of that of the second dielectric and the first and second dielectric have different microstructures to limit crystal growth therebetween during tempering.

Abstract: An apparatus for the reactive coating of a substrate 1, with silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) for example, comprises a power source 10, 37 connected to an electrode 5 which is disposed in an evacuable coating chamber 15, 15a and interacts with a target 3 which is sputtered and the sputtered particles of which are deposited on the substrate 1, wherein argon and oxygen, for example, are supplied to the coating chamber 15, 15a. The target to be sputtered is composed of several parts, for example. A center part 3a of the target 3 opposite the substrate 1 is made of silicon (Si) and the part 3b surrounding this center portion is made of zinc (Sn), for example. Provision is made for a diaphragm 24 between the substrate 1 on the one hand, and the target 3, on the other hand. The shape of the magnetic field of the electrode 5 during the sputtering generates a sputtering of the more reactive target material 3a in the oxidic mode and of the less reactive target material 3b in the metallic mode.