A low-reflection film-coated transparent substrate of the present invention includes a transparent substrate and a low-reflection film formed on at least one principal surface of the transparent substrate. The low-reflection film is a porous film including: fine silica particles being solid and spherical and having an average particle diameter of 80 to 150 nm; and a binder containing silica as a main component, the fine silica particles being bound by the binder. The binder further contains an aluminum compound. The low-reflection film contains as components: 55 to 70 mass % of the fine silica particles; 25 to 40 mass % of the silica of the binder; 0.1 to 1.5 mass % of the aluminum compound in terms of Al.sub.2O.sub.3; and 0.25 to 3% of an organic component. The low-reflection film has a thickness of 80 to 800 nm. A transmittance gain is 2.5% or more, the transmittance gain being defined as an increase of average transmittance of the low-reflection film-coated transparent substrate in a wavelength range of 380 to 850 nm relative to average transmittance of the transparent substrate uncoated with the low-reflection film in the wavelength range. The organic component includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a ß-ketoester and a ß-diketone.

A process for obtaining a material including a textured glass substrate coated, on at least one of its textured faces, with an antireflective coating of sol-gel type based on porous silica, includes a stage of application, to the at least one textured face of the substrate, of a solution containing at least one silica precursor and at least one pore-forming agent, then a heat treatment stage targeted at consolidating the antireflective coating. Before the application stage, the glass substrate is subjected to a preheating stage, so that the at least one textured face intended to be coated with the antireflective coating has a temperature within a range extending from 30° C. to 100° C. immediately before the application stage.

A display device includes a display panel and a cover window on the display panel, and the cover window includes a cover glass, a flame retardant layer, and a functional coating layer, and a cover window having a flame retardant characteristic and an anti-scattering characteristic by using a flame retardant layer is used to improve the durability and the heat-resistance of the display device.

An antireflection structure comprising a transparent substrate having a plurality of holes with U-shaped or V-shaped cross-sectional shapes perpendicular to a flat surface portion and a metal oxide film disposed on the surface portion of the transparent substrate and in the space portions formed in an upward direction from the bottom portions of holes in the transparent substrate, wherein the average diameter of the openings of the holes is 50 nm to 300 nm, the average distance between the center points of openings of the adjacent holes is 100 nm to 400 nm, and the depth of each hole from the surface portion of the substrate is 80 nm to 250 nm; and the thickness of the metal oxide film disposed in each of the space portions increases as the depth of each of the holes becomes larger, thereby reducing the difference in depth between the holes from the uppermost surface portion of the metal oxide film disposed on the surface portion to the surface portions of the metal oxide films in the space portions.

Disclosed herein are coated articles which may include a substrate and an optical coating that includes one or more layers of deposited material. At least a portion of the optical coating may include a residual compressive stress of more than 100 MPa. The coated article may include a strain-to-failure of 0.4% or more as measured by a Ring-on-Ring Tensile Testing Procedure. The optical coating may include a maximum hardness of 8 GPa or more and an average photopic transmission of 50% or greater.

A surface finishing method, an anti-glare coating, and a display device having same are provided. The surface finishing method includes adding diffusion particles which have a density less than that of a resin material, and controlling the thickness of the resin material in an anti-glare material coated on a surface of a substrate to be greater than the particle size of the diffusion particles, so that the diffusion particles are evenly dispersed in the resin layer, and a part of the volume of the diffusion particles are exposed on a surface of the resin layer. Thus, the uniformity of the surface haze of the anti-glare coating can be enhanced, and flashing points of the display device can be avoided.

A glass article is provided (and methods of making the same) that includes: a glass substrate comprising a thickness and a first primary surface; and a porosity-graded layer that extends from the first primary surface of the substrate to a first depth within the substrate. The first depth is from about 250 nm to about 3000 nm. The porosity-graded layer comprises a plurality of pores having an average pore size from about 5 nm to 100 nm. The article comprises a single-side average reflectance of less than 9% at an incident angle of 60 degrees across a spectrum from 350 nm to 2000 nm. Further, the porosity-graded layer comprises a surface porosity at the first primary surface and a bulk porosity at the first depth, the surface porosity greater than the bulk porosity.

The invention relates to a method of making hybrid organic-inorganic core-shell nano-particles, comprising the steps of a) providing colloidal organic particles comprising a synthetic polyampholyte as a template; b) adding at least one inorganic oxide precursor; and c) forming a shell layer from the precursor on the template to result in core-shell nano-particles. With this method it is possible to make colloidal organic template particles having an average particle size in the range of 10 to 300 nm; which size can be controlled by the comonomer composition of the polyampholyte, and/or by selecting dispersion conditions.

The invention also relates to organic-inorganic or hollow-inorganic core-shell nano-particles obtained with this method, to compositions comprising such nano-particles, to different uses of said nano-particles and compositions, and to products comprising or made from said nano-particles and compositions, including anti-reflective coatings and composite materials.

Embodiments of a scratch-resistant and optically transparent material comprising silicon, aluminum, nitrogen, and optionally oxygen are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, the material exhibits an extinction coefficient (k) at a wavelength of 400 nm of less than about 1×10.sup.−3, and an average transmittance of about 80% or greater, over an optical wavelength regime in the range from about 380 nm to about 780 nm, as measured through the material having a thickness of about 0.4 micrometer. In one or more embodiments, the material comprises an intrinsic maximum hardness of about 12 GPa or greater as measured on a major surface of the material having a thickness of about 400 by a Berkovich Indenter Hardness Test along an indentation depth of about 100 nm or greater, low compressive stress and low roughness (Ra). Articles and devices incorporating the material are also disclosed.

A thin-film coating applicator assembly is disclosed for coating substrates in outdoor applications. The innovative thin-film coating applicator assembly is adapted to apply performance enhancement coatings on installed photovoltaic panels and glass windows in outdoor environments. The coating applicator is adapted to move along a solar panel or glass pane while applicator mechanisms deposit a uniform layer of liquid coating solution to the substrate's surface. The applicator assembly comprises a conveyance means disposed on a frame. Further disclosed are innovative applicator heads that comprise a deformable sponge-like core surrounded by a microporous layer. The structure, when in contact with a substrate surface, deposits a uniform layer of coating solution over a large surface.