The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing tempered glass and, more specifically, to a method for manufacturing alkali-free glass which has the thickness of 2.0 mm or less into tempered glass by means of heat treatment and surface treatment using fluosilicic acid. To this end, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing tempered glass, the method comprising: a preparation step for preparing alkali-free glass; a surface treatment step for surface-treating the alkali-free glass by means of a surface treatment solution comprising fluosilicic acid and thereby generating on the surface of the alkali-free glass a porous SiO.sub.2-rich layer of which the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is smaller than the CTE of the inner part of the alkali-free glass; and a heat treatment step for heat-treating the alkali-free glass that has been surface-treated and thereby generating compressive stress on the surface of the alkali-free glass.

Photosensitive lithium zinc aluminosilicate glasses that can be selectively irradiated and cerammed to provide patterned regions of glass and lithium-based glass ceramic, and composite glass articles made from such glasses and glass ceramics are provided. Compressive and tensile stress at the interface of the lithium-based glass-ceramic and lithium zinc aluminosilicate glass may be used to frustrate crack propagation in such a composite glass/glass ceramic article. Methods of making composite glass articles comprising such lithium-based glass ceramics and lithium zinc aluminosilicate glasses are also provided.

Photosensitive lithium zinc aluminosilicate glasses that can be selectively irradiated and cerammed to provide patterned regions of glass and lithium-based glass ceramic, and composite glass articles made from such glasses and glass ceramics are provided. Compressive and tensile stress at the interface of the lithium-based glass-ceramic and lithium zinc aluminosilicate glass may be used to frustrate crack propagation in such a composite glass/glass ceramic article. Methods of making composite glass articles comprising such lithium-based glass ceramics and lithium zinc aluminosilicate glasses are also provided.

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for tempering or chemically strengthening glass substrates having electrochromic devices fabricated thereon. In one aspect, an electrochromic device is fabricated on a glass substrate. The glass substrate is then tempered or chemically strengthened. The disclosed methods may reduce or prevent potential issues that the electrochromic device may experience during the tempering or the chemical strengthening processes, including the loss of charge carrying ions from the device, redistribution of charge carrying ions in the device, modification of the morphology of materials included in the device, modification of the oxidation state of materials included in the device, and the formation of an interfacial region between the electrochromic layer and the counter electrode layer of the device that impacts the performance of the device.

Glass articles comprising an outer region extending from an outer surface of the glass article to a depth of layer and methods of making the same are described. The outer region is bounded by at least one edge of the glass article and is under an intrinsic neutral stress or an intrinsic compressive stress. A core region of the glass article is under a tensile stress. A compressive element applies an external compressive stress to the at least one edge and increases the intrinsic stress on the outer region and reduces the tensile stress in the core region of the glass article. The glass article may be a strengthened glass article such that the outer region is under compressive stress, and the external compressive stress applied by the compressive element has a magnitude such that the glass article has an overall internal stress defined by:

∫.sub.0.sup.tσdt≠0

where t is a thickness of the glass article and σ is the internal stress.

Glass articles comprising an outer region extending from an outer surface of the glass article to a depth of layer and methods of making the same are described. The outer region is bounded by at least one edge of the glass article and is under an intrinsic neutral stress or an intrinsic compressive stress. A core region of the glass article is under a tensile stress. A compressive element applies an external compressive stress to the at least one edge and increases the intrinsic stress on the outer region and reduces the tensile stress in the core region of the glass article. The glass article may be a strengthened glass article such that the outer region is under compressive stress, and the external compressive stress applied by the compressive element has a magnitude such that the glass article has an overall internal stress defined by:

∫.sub.0.sup.tσdt≠0

where t is a thickness of the glass article and σ is the internal stress.

A sensor module includes: a base member; at least one of a single or a plurality of sensors and vibrators arranged on the base member; and a protective member constituted of at least one flat surface or a curved surface, provided so as to cover the at least one of the sensors and the vibrators. A part or whole of the protective member is formed of a strengthened glass and the strengthened glass is a chemically strengthened glass or a physically strengthened glass.

A fitout article or article of equipment for a kitchen or laboratory is provided. The article has a lighting and separating element. The separating element in a region of the lighting element has light transmittance of at least 0.1% and less than 12%. The lighting element in the interior emits light that passes through the separating element and to the exterior. The separating element has a glass or glass-ceramic substrate having a CTE of −6 to 6 ppm/K and has a colour locus in the CIELAB colour space with the coordinates L* of 20 to 40, a* of −6 to 6 and b* of −6 to 6. D65 standard illuminant light, after passing through the separating element, is within a white region W1 determined in the chromaticity diagram CIExyY−2° by the following coordinates: TABLE-US-00001 White region W1 x y 0.27 0.21 0.22 0.25 0.32 0.37 0.45 0.45 0.47 0.34 0.36  0.29.

A glass frit for forming a black enamel coating includes Si at 6.5 mol % to 6.9 mol %, B at 9.0 mol % to 9.3 mol %, Bi at 13.0 mol % to 13.4 mol %, Zn at 6.0 mol % to 6.3 mol %, and Al at 1.5 mol % to 2.0 mol %, and Co, Ni, and Fe, wherein a total amount of Co, Ni, and Fe is 2.9 mol % to 3.5 mol % of the glass frit in a molar ratio.

A glass frit for forming a black enamel coating includes Si at 6.5 mol % to 6.9 mol %, B at 9.0 mol % to 9.3 mol %, Bi at 13.0 mol % to 13.4 mol %, Zn at 6.0 mol % to 6.3 mol %, and Al at 1.5 mol % to 2.0 mol %, and Co, Ni, and Fe, wherein a total amount of Co, Ni, and Fe is 2.9 mol % to 3.5 mol % of the glass frit in a molar ratio.