A robust coated core comprising a composite with a fused or sintered coating

Provided is an optical film (composite tungsten oxide film containing cesium, tungsten, and oxygen), a sputtering target, and a method of producing an optical film by which film formation conditions can be easily obtained. An optical film of the present invention has transmissivity in a visible wavelength band, has absorbance in a near-infrared wavelength band, and has radio wave transparency, characterized in that the optical film comprises cesium, tungsten, and oxygen, and a refractive index n and an extinction coefficient k of the optical film at each of wavelengths [300 nm, 350 nm, 400 nm, 450 nm, . . . , 1700 nm] specified at 50 nm intervals in a wavelength region from 300 nm to 1700 nm are set respectively within specified numerical ranges.

A material includes a transparent substrate coated with a stack of thin layers acting on infrared radiation including at least one functional layer. The stack includes a carbon-based upper protective layer within which the carbon atoms are essentially in an sp.sup.2 hybridization state and the upper protective layer is deposited above at least a part of the functional layer and exhibits a thickness of less than 1 nm.

A material includes a transparent substrate coated with a stack of thin layers including at least one silver-based functional metal layer. The stack includes a dielectric layer based on silicon and/or aluminum nitride located above a silver-based functional metal layer and an upper protective layer based on zirconium titanium oxide located above the dielectric layer based on silicon and/or aluminum nitride and exhibiting a ratio by weight of titanium to zirconium Ti/Zr of between 60/40 and 90/10.

Embodiments of methods for forming strengthened glass articles comprise providing an exchangeable glass substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between about 60×10-7/° C. to about 110×10-7/° C., depositing at least one decorative porous inorganic layer onto at least a portion of the surface of the glass substrate, wherein the decorative porous inorganic layer comprises a glass transition temperature (Tg)≥450° C., a glass softening temperature (Ts)≤650° C., wherein the difference in CTE values between the glass substrate and the decorative porous inorganic layer is within 10×10-7/° C.; and curing the glass substrate and the deposited decorative porous inorganic layer at a temperature greater than the Ts of the decorative porous inorganic layer; and chemically strengthening the cured glass substrate and the decorative porous inorganic layer thereon via ion exchange at a temperature below the Tg of the decorative porous inorganic layer.

Provided are an oxide sintered compact whereby low carrier density and high carrier mobility are obtained when the oxide sintered compact is used to obtain an oxide semiconductor thin film by a sputtering method, and a sputtering target which uses the oxide sintered compact. This oxide sintered compact contains oxides of indium, gallium, and aluminum. The gallium content is from 0.15 to 0.49 by Ga/(In+Ga) atomic ratio, and the aluminum content is from 0.0001 to less than 0.25 by Al/(In+Ga+Al) atomic ratio. A crystalline oxide semiconductor thin film formed using this oxide sintered compact as a sputtering target is obtained at a carrier density of 4.0×10.sup.18 cm.sup.−3 or less and a carrier mobility of 10 cm.sup.−2V.sup.−1sec.sup.−1 or greater.

A coated article includes a coating, such as a low emissivity (low-E) coating, supported by a substrate (e.g., glass substrate). The coating includes at least one dielectric layer including tin oxide that is doped with another metal(s). The coating may also include one or more infrared (IR) reflecting layer(s) of or including material such as silver or the like, for reflecting at least some IR radiation. In certain example embodiments, the coated article may be heat treated (e.g., thermally tempered, heat bent and/or heat strengthened). Coated articles according to certain example embodiments of this invention may be used in the context of windows, including monolithic windows for buildings, IG windows for buildings, etc.

An article includes a substrate that is transparent, the substrate being covered on at least one of its faces, totally or partly, with a protective layer based on zirconium and aluminum mixed oxide.

Composite structures composed of a coating applied to a substrate and provided, along with a process for applying a coating to a substrate to form the composite structure. Coatings described herein provide at least one of the following properties: nano-sized surface roughness; enhanced hydrophobic function; high transmittance; improved hardness; improved scratch resistance; and desirable bending properties. The coating method includes mixing coating particulates having an average particle diameter of 1 μm or less with a transfer gas, transferring the mixture to an application nozzle, and spraying coating particulates on the substrate under low pressure conditions to form a coating having an average particle diameter of 100 nm or less.

Described are thermochromic materials. Described thermochromic materials include materials comprising vanadium (IV) oxide and a solid component obtained from a precursor having film-forming properties. Also described are preparation methods for thermochromic materials.