HIGHLY ABRASION-RESISTANT, FLEXIBLE COATINGS FOR SOFT SUBSTRATES

• Main Authors: KNAPP, BRADLEY J, PETRMICHL, RUDOLPH HUGO, KIMOCK, FRED M, DANIELS, BRIAN KENNETH
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 22.11.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; LAYERED PRODUCTS; LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT ORNON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM; METALLURGY; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TRANSPORTING

An abrasion wear resistant coated substrate product is described comprising a substrate and an abrasion wear resistant coating material comprisisng carbon, hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. The abrasion wear resistant coating material has the properties of Nanoindentation hardness in the range of about 2 to about 5 GPa and a strain to microcracking greater than about 1 % and a transparency greater than 85 % in the visible spectrum. The coated products of the present invention are suitable for use in optical applications such as ophthalmic lenses or laser bar code scanner windows. In the method for making the products, the substrate is first chemically cleaned to remove contaminants. In the second step, the substrate is inserted into a vacuum chamber, and the air in said chamber is evacuated. In the third step, the substrate surface is bombarded with energetic ions and/or reactive species to assist in the removal of residual hydrocarbons and surface oxides, and to activate the surface. After the substrate surface has been etched, a protective, abrasion-resistant coating is deposited by plasma or ion beam deposition. Once the chosen thickness of the coating has been achieved, the deposition process o n the substrates is terminated, the vacuum chamber pressure is increased to at mospheric pressure, andthe coated substrate products ha ving improved abrasion-resistance are removed from the vacuum chamber.