BRIGHT METAL FLAKE

摘要

A rigid and brittle bright metal flake is formed of a central layer of a reflective material supported on both sides by dielectric layers. In a preferred embodiment, the metal layer is aluminum having a thickness of about 100 nm and the dielectrics are either silicon dioxide or magnesium fluoride, each having a thickness of about 100 nm. The result is a very thin three-layered metal flake about 300 nm thick that exhibits a uniaxial compressive strength of about 8 times a corresponding uniaxial tensile strength. As a result, the metal flake is then afforded the benefits of rigidity and brittle fracture during the manufacturing and applicational processes which ultimately provides favorable planar and specular reflectance characteristics in the visible wavelength range.