Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to methods and apparatus of processing transparent substrates, such as glass substrates. In one implementation, a film stack for optical devices includes a glass substrate including a first surface and a second surface. The film stack includes a device function layer formed on the first surface, a hard mask layer formed on the device function layer, and a substrate recognition layer formed on the hard mask layer. The hard mask layer includes one or more of chromium, ruthenium, or titanium nitride. The film stack includes a backside layer formed on the second surface. The backside layer formed on the second surface includes one or more of a conductive layer or an oxide layer.

The invention provides low-emissivity coatings that are highly reflective of infrared radiation. The coating includes three infrared-reflection film regions, which may each comprise silver.

A composition of AR layer that is aimed to match the refractive index of the underlying substrate e.g. glass, chemically strengthened glass, plastics etc., so as maximum light is transmitting through it. For a device with an sapphire film for anti-scratch protection, because sapphire has a different refractive index to that of the substrate, therefore existing AR layer will not function as well as it should; not only the transmitted light is reduced in quantity, its transmitted range will be changed such that imaging or display color is compromised. Therefore an integrated AR with sapphire film with the top most AR layer as Al.sub.2O.sub.3 which also acts as anti-scratching layer will eliminate this problem. This claim involves replacing one of the materials for AR layer is Al.sub.2O.sub.3 such that the top most AR layer as Al.sub.2O.sub.3 which also acts as anti-scratching layer.

A low-emissivity (low-E) coating on a substrate (e.g., glass substrate) includes at least first and second infrared (IR) reflecting layers (e.g., silver based layers) that are spaced apart by contact layers (e.g., NiCr based layers), a layer comprising silicon nitride, and an absorber layer of or including a material such as niobium zirconium which may be oxided and/or nitrided. The absorber layer is designed to allow the coated article to realize glass side reflective (equivalent to exterior reflective in an IG window unit when the coating is provided on surface #2 of an IG window unit) silver color. In certain example embodiments, the coated article (monolithic form and/or in IG window unit form) has a low visible transmission (e.g., from 15-45%, more preferably from 22-39%, and most preferably from 24-35%). In certain example embodiments, the coated article may be heat treated (e.g., thermally tempered and/or heat bent).

The invention provides transparent conductive coatings based on indium tin oxide. In some embodiments, the coating includes two indium tin oxide films and two nickel alloy films. Also provided are laminated glass assemblies that include such coatings.

A low-E coating has good color stability (a low ΔE* value) upon heat treatment (HT). Thermal stability may be improved by the provision of an as-deposited crystalline or substantially crystalline layer of or including zinc oxide, doped with at least one dopant (e.g., Sn), immediately under an infrared (IR) reflecting layer of or including silver; and/or by the provision of at least one dielectric layer of or including an oxide of zirconium. These have the effect of significantly improving the coating's thermal stability (i.e., lowering the ΔE* value). An absorber film may be designed to adjust visible transmission and provide desirable coloration, while maintaining durability and/or thermal stability. The dielectric layer (e.g., of or including an oxide of Zr) may be sputter-deposited so as to have a monoclinic phase in order to improve thermal stability.

Provided is an antireflective-film attached transparent substrate having a luminous transmittance of 20% to 84% and a b* value of a transmission color being 5 or smaller under a D65 light source, in which the antireflective film has a luminous reflectance being 1% or lower and a sheet resistance being 10.sup.4 Ω/□ or higher, and in which the antireflective film has a multilayer structure built up of at least two layers, at least one layer is constituted mainly of silicon oxide, and at least another layer is constituted mainly of a mixed oxide of at least one oxide of Mo and W and at least one oxide of Si, Nb, Ti, Zr, Ta, Al, Sn, and In, and has an extinction coefficient at 550 nm being in a range of 0.005 to 3.

A material including a transparent substrate coated with a stack of thin layers including at least one silver-based functional metallic layer and at least one zinc-based metallic layer. The zinc-based metallic layer is located above or below a silver-based functional metallic layer and separated from this silver-based functional metallic layer by at least one intermediate oxide layer based on one or more elements chosen from zinc, titanium, zirconium, tin, niobium, magnesium, hafnium and nickel.

A solar radiation shielding member includes a low radiation film sheet having a first dielectric film, a first metal film, a second dielectric film, a second metal film, a third dielectric film, a third metal film and a fourth dielectric film laminated in order of mention on a transparent substrate. The first dielectric film has: a dielectric layer A arranged directly above the transparent substrate and containing silicon and nitrogen; and a dielectric layer B arranged on the dielectric layer A and containing titanium and oxygen. The dielectric layer A has an optical thickness of 12 to 86 nm. The first, second and third dielectric films have respective crystalline dielectric layers as top layers thereof. The crystalline dielectric layers each have an optical thickness of 5 to 54 nm. The first, second and third metal films are Ag films directly below which the crystalline dielectric layers are arranged, respectively.

A composite pane, includes an outer pane having an outer-side surface and an interior-side surface, an inner pane having an outer-side surface and an interior-side surface, and a thermoplastic intermediate layer, which joins the interior-side surface of the outer pane to the outer-side surface of the inner pane. The composite pane has, between the outer and inner panes, a sun protection coating, which substantially reflects or absorbs rays outside the visible spectrum of solar radiation. The composite pane has, on the interior-side surface of the inner pane, a thermal-radiation-reflecting coating (low-E coating). The composite pane has a transmittance index A of 0.02 to 0.08, wherein the transmittance index A is determined according to the following formula A=TL.sub.composite glass pane/(TL.sub.low-E-coated pane*TE). TL is the light transmittance and TE is the energy transmittance measured according to ISO 9050.