Low temperature laser bleaching of polychromatic glass ceramics

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021284572-A1
Application number	US-202117183539-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 24, 2021
Priority date	Mar 13, 2020
Publication date	Sep 16, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of marking a glass-ceramic article includes the steps of: illuminating a glass-ceramic article with a beam from a laser, the glass-ceramic article having a thickness, T; and forming a mark in the glass-ceramic article while translating at least one of the glass-ceramic article or laser. The mark has a Contrast Ratio greater than 10. The step of forming a mark includes focusing the beam from the laser within the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article. The focusing of the beam results in alteration of a chemical property or a physical property of the glass-ceramic article. The mark produced by the beam from the laser extends through at least 50% of the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article. The glass-ceramic article may have a global temperature less than 100° C. during the marking process and does not fracture as the mark is formed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of marking a glass-ceramic article, the method comprising the steps of:
illuminating the glass-ceramic article with a beam from a laser, the glass-ceramic article having a thickness, T; forming a mark in the glass-ceramic article while translating at least one of the glass-ceramic article or laser, the mark having a Contrast Ratio greater than 10, the step of forming a mark comprising focusing the beam from the laser within the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article, the focusing of the beam altering at least one property chosen from a chemical property and a physical property of the glass-ceramic article, the mark produced by the beam from the laser extending through at least 50% of the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article.

2 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the mark produced by the beam from the laser extends through at least 80% of the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article.

3 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 2 , wherein the mark produced by the beam from the laser extends through an entirety of the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article.

4 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein a global temperature of the glass-ceramic article is less than 100° C. throughout the method of marking a glass-ceramic article, and wherein the glass-ceramic article does not fracture as the mark is formed.

5 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein an interaction between the beam from the laser and the glass-ceramic article provides the sole source of heating in the method of marking a glass-ceramic article.

6 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the glass-ceramic article comprises OH groups, and wherein the beam from the laser has a wavelength that is absorbed by the OH groups.

7 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the focusing the beam from the laser comprises heating a local region of the glass-ceramic article to a temperature above the global temperature.

8 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 7 , wherein the temperature above the global temperature is above a glass transition temperature, T g , of the glass-ceramic article.

9 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 7 , wherein the temperature above the global temperature is below a softening point of the glass-ceramic article.

10 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 7 , wherein the temperature above the global temperature is less than 1000° C.

11 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 7 , wherein the temperature above the global temperature is less than 700° C.

12 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the at least one property chosen from a chemical property and a physical property is an oxidation state of an ion of the glass-ceramic article.

13 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the at least one property chosen from a chemical property and a physical property is a crystalline volume fraction of the glass-ceramic article.

14 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the mark has a Contrast Ratio greater than 1,000.

15 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the global temperature is less than 50° C.

16 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the beam of the laser comprises a wavelength and an average internal optical transmittance of the wavelength through the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article is greater than 20%/mm.

17 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the beam of the laser comprises a wavelength and an average internal optical transmittance of the wavelength through the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article is greater than 30%/mm.

18 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the beam of the laser comprises a wavelength and an average internal optical transmittance of the wavelength through the thickness, T, of the glass-ceramic article is greater than 40%/mm.

19 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the beam of the laser comprises a wavelength within the range of 2500 nm and 2800 nm.

20 . The method of marking a glass-ceramic article of claim 1 , wherein the mark has a width in the range of 10-20 μm.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Dejneka Matthew John
• Kohl Jesse
• Streltsov Alexander Mikhailovich

Classifications

• C03C10/0054

  containing PbO, SnO2, B2O3 · CPC title

• C03C10/0018

  containing SiO2, Al2O3 and monovalent metal oxide as main constituents · CPC title

• C03C23/0025 Primary

  by a laser beam · CPC title

• C03C4/0071

  for laserable glass · CPC title

• C03C3/118 Primary

  containing aluminium · CPC title