Locally strengthened glass-ceramics and methods of making the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11845689-B2
Application number	US-201917040323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 9, 2019
Priority date	Apr 9, 2018
Publication date	Dec 19, 2023
Grant date	Dec 19, 2023

Abstract

Locally cerammed optically transparent glass-ceramic articles for consumer products. The locally cerammed glass-ceramic articles may have one or more primary glass-ceramic regions including primary crystal phases of a glass-ceramic material and one or more secondary glass-ceramic regions including secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material. The primary glass-ceramic region(s) may be optically transparent and the secondary glass-ceramic region(s) may be non-optically transparent. The primary glass-ceramic region(s) may have a fracture toughness less than the fracture toughness of the secondary glass-ceramic region(s).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A glass-ceramic article comprising:
a body formed of a glass-ceramic material, the body comprising:
a primary glass-ceramic region comprising primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of X MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material are optically transparent, and
a secondary glass-ceramic region comprising secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of Y MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material are not optically transparent, and wherein Y is greater than X.

2. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the primary crystal phases comprise petalite and lithium disilicate.

3. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the secondary crystal phases comprise beta-spodumene, lithium disilicate, and zirconia.

4. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein X is 0.9 MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½ or more.

5. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein Y is 2 MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½ or more.

6. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein Y is at least two times more than X.

7. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material comprise a first average grain size and wherein the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material comprise a second average grain size larger than the first average grain size.

8. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the secondary glass-ceramic region comprises a cross-sectional area defined by the thickness of the secondary glass-ceramic region measured between an inner surface and an outer surface of the body, and wherein a maximum thickness of an area defined by the secondary crystal phases in the cross-sectional area is equal to a maximum thickness of the cross-sectional area.

9. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the secondary glass-ceramic region comprises a cross-sectional area defined by the thickness of the secondary glass-ceramic region measured between an inner surface and an outer surface of the body, and wherein a maximum thickness of an area defined by the secondary crystal phases in the cross-sectional area is less than a maximum thickness of the cross-sectional area.

10. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the secondary glass-ceramic region comprises a cross-sectional area defined by the thickness of the secondary glass-ceramic region measured between an inner surface and an outer surface of the body, and the cross-sectional area comprises a first area defined by the primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a second area defined by the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material.

11. The glass-ceramic article of claim 10 , wherein the second area is central area disposed between portions of the first area.

12. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the body consists essentially of the primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material.

13. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises less than 25 wt % amorphous phase of the glass-ceramic material.

14. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a hollow interior defined by a circumferential sidewall, and wherein the secondary glass-ceramic region defines a circumferential volume of the circumferential sidewall.

15. The glass-ceramic article of claim 14 , comprising at least two separate secondary glass-ceramic regions, each secondary glass-ceramic region defining a circumferential volume of the circumferential sidewall.

16. The glass-ceramic article of claim 15 , wherein, with the exception of the secondary glass-ceramic regions, the circumferential sidewall is defined by the primary glass-ceramic region.

17. The glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a plate defined by a top surface, a bottom surface, and a perimeter edge, and wherein the secondary glass-ceramic region defines the perimeter edge.

18. The glass-ceramic article of claim 17 , wherein the plate is a cover substrate for an electronic display.

19. A glass-ceramic container, comprising:
a body formed of a glass-ceramic material and comprising a hollow interior defined by a circumferential sidewall, an open top end, and a bottom end, wherein the circumferential sidewall comprises:
a primary circumferential glass-ceramic region comprising primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of X MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the primary crystal phases of glass-ceramic material are optically transparent, and
a secondary circumferential glass-ceramic region comprising secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of Y MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material are not optically transparent, and wherein Y is greater than X.

20. A glass-ceramic container, comprising:
a body formed of a glass-ceramic material and comprising a hollow interior defined by a circumferential sidewall formed symmetrically around a central vertical axis, an open top end, and a bottom end,
wherein the circumferential sidewall comprises:
a peripheral region defined by a volume of the circumferential sidewall, the peripheral region comprising secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of Y MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the secondary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material are not optically transparent, and
a contracted region defined by a volume of the circumferential sidewall disposed closer to the central axis than the peripheral region and comprising primary crystal phases of the glass-ceramic material and a fracture toughness of X MPa*m{circumflex over ( )}½, wherein the primary crystal phases of glass-ceramic material are optically transparent, and wherein Y is greater than X.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Christiansen Kirk Wegner
• Fu Qiang
• Gorelchenko Petr
• Palumbo Aniello Mario
• Pambianchi Michael S
• Vanduyne Erick Franklin

Classifications

• C03C10/0027 Primary

  containing SiO2, Al2O3, Li2O as main constituents · CPC title

• B65D1/0207

  characterised by material, e.g. composition, physical features · CPC title

• C03B32/02

  Thermal crystallisation, e.g. for crystallising glass bodies into glass-ceramic articles {(C03B27/012 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• C03C2204/00

  Glasses, glazes or enamels with special properties · CPC title

• Y10T428/131

  Glass, ceramic, or sintered, fused, fired, or calcined metal oxide or metal carbide containing [e.g., porcelain, brick, cement, etc.] · CPC title