Diamond-Like Carbon as a protective coating for decorative glass

Rolf Petrmichl, Victor Veerasamy, Nestor Murphy, Jiangping Wang, Fabio Reis, Jens Peter Mueller
Guardian Industries

Though glass is a remarkably stable material, able to withstand most environmental stresses indefinitely without bulk failure, its surface is relatively easy to damage through mechanical contact with hard materials (e.g. glass or hardened metal) or through chemical exposure to corrosive chemicals (such as alkali solutions or certain types of hard water), leading to readily visible cosmetic defects. In as much as the ability to see through glass is one of its primary selling points, its resistance to marring, scratching or corrosion directly influences its value.

Historically, efforts to protect glass have relied on organic surface treatments or films which lower its coefficient of friction or yield under impact, or on the use of inorganic oxide or nitride coatings to produce a hard surface layer. The drawback of the organic treatments is they wear off, and of the inorganic coatings that they are easily marred due to inherently high friction. Diamond-Like Carbon is a unique material that combines the benefits of both organic and inorganic materials and thereby provides superior glass protection without wearing away.

Since its discovery in the early 1970s, the protective properties of Diamond-Like Carbon have been exploited in a diverse assortment of small-scale products, including razor blades, hard disk media, and bar-code scanner windows. This paper focuses on the development and commercialization of DLC for large area glass applications – specifically as a transparent and robust protective coating for decorative glass products.

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The Authors