COMPOSITIONAL MODIFICATION OF GLASS ARTICLES THROUGH LASER HEATING AND METHODS FOR MAKING THE SAME

• Main Authors: GRAY, Stuart, DEJNEKA, Matthew John
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 19.10.2022
• Subjects: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES, OR VITREOUSENAMELS; CHEMISTRY; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; GLASS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS; MACHINE TOOLS; MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS,MINERALS OR SLAGS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; TRANSPORTING; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

Glass articles and methods for modifying a composition of a surface portion of the glass article are disclosed. The method includes heating the surface portion of the glass article with a laser beam to a temperature within a range of about 1100?C to about 2200?C such that the heating evaporates one or more metalloids and/or one or more alkali metals present at the surface portion, and modifies the composition of the surface portion such that the surface portion has a lower alkali metals concentration and/or a lower metalloids concentration as compared to a portion of the glass article that is not heated by the laser beam.