Low-e panels with ternary metal oxide dielectric layer and method for forming the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9315414-B2
Application number	US-201514701053-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2015
Priority date	Dec 27, 2011
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

Embodiments provided herein describe a low-e panel and a method for forming a low-e panel. A transparent substrate is provided. A metal oxide layer is formed over the transparent substrate. The metal oxide layer includes a first element, a second element, and a third element. A reflective layer is formed over the transparent substrate. The first element may include tin or zinc. The second element and the third element may each include tin, zinc, antimony, silicon, strontium, titanium, niobium, zirconium, magnesium, aluminum, yttrium, lanthanum, hafnium, or bismuth. The metal oxide layer may also include nitrogen.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method for forming a low-e panel, the method comprising:
providing a transparent substrate;
forming a metal oxide layer over the transparent substrate, wherein the metal oxide layer comprises oxygen, a first element, a second element, and a third element, wherein the first element is tin or zinc, the second element is strontium, and the third element is hafnium; and
forming a reflective layer over the transparent substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide layer further comprises nitrogen.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reflective layer is formed over the metal oxide layer.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising forming a second metal oxide layer over the reflective layer, the second metal oxide layer comprising a fourth element, a fifth element, and a six element, wherein the fourth element is tin or zinc, the fifth element is strontium, and the sixth element is hafnium.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first element is the same as the fourth element.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the reflective layer comprises silver.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming of the metal oxide layer comprises sputtering particles of the first element, the second element, and the third element from a single target.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transparent substrate comprises glass.

9. The method of claim 4 , further comprising forming a zinc oxide layer between the metal oxide layer and the reflective layer.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising forming a metal alloy layer between the reflective layer and the second metal oxide layer.

11. A method for forming a low-e panel, the method comprising:
providing a transparent substrate;
forming a metal oxynitride layer over the transparent substrate, the metal oxynitride layer comprising a first element, a second element, and a third element, wherein the first element is tin or zinc, the second element is strontium, and the third element is hafnium; and
forming a silver layer over the transparent substrate.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the silver layer is formed over the metal oxynitride layer.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising forming a second metal oxynitride layer over the reflective layer, the second metal oxynitride layer comprising a fourth element, a fifth element, and a six element, wherein the fourth element is tin or zinc, the fifth element is strontium, and the sixth element is hafnium.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the forming of the metal oxynitride layer comprises sputtering particles of the first element, the second element, and the third element from a single target.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the forming of the metal oxynitride layer comprises simultaneously sputtering particles of the first element, the second element, and the third element from more than one target.

16. A method for forming a low-e panel, the method comprising:
providing a transparent substrate;
forming a first metal oxide layer over the transparent substrate, wherein the first metal oxide layer comprises oxygen, a first element, a second element, and a third element, wherein the first element is tin or zinc, the second element is strontium, and the third element is hafnium;
forming a reflective layer over the first metal oxide layer; and
forming a second metal oxide layer over the reflective layer, wherein the second metal oxide layer is made of the same material as the first metal oxide.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the reflective layer comprising silver.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the transparent substrate comprises glass.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first metal oxide layer further comprises nitrogen.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
forming a zinc oxide layer between the first metal oxide layer and the reflective layer; and
forming a metal alloy layer between the reflective layer and the second metal oxide layer.

Assignees

• Intermolecular Inc
• Intermolecular Inc
• Guardian Industries

Inventors

• Hassan Mohd Fadzli Anwar
• Blacker Richard
• Ding Guowen
• Lao Jingyu
• Le Minh Huu
• Lu Yiwei
• Nguyen Minh Anh
• Sun Zhi-Wen

Classifications

• C03C17/3644

  the metal being silver · CPC title

• C03C2217/281

  Nitrides · CPC title

• C03C2217/228

  Other specific oxides · CPC title

• C03C2217/216

  ZnO · CPC title

• C23C14/3464

  using more than one target (C23C14/56 takes precedence) · CPC title