METHOD OF GROWING ALUMINUM OXIDE ONTO SUBSTRATES BY USE OF AN ALUMINUM SOURCE IN AN ENVIRONMENT CONTAINING PARTIAL PRESSURE OF OXYGEN TO CREATE TRANSPARENT, SCRATCH-RESISTANT WINDOWS

摘要

A system and process for inter alia coating a substrate such as glass substrate with a layer of aluminum oxide to create a scratch-resistant and shatter-resistant matrix comprised of a thin scratch-resistant aluminum oxide film deposited on one or more sides of a transparent and shatter-resistant substrate for use in consumer and mobile devices such as watch crystals, cell phones, tablet computers, personal computers and the like. The system and process may include a sputtering technique. The system and process may produce a thin window that has a thickness of about 2 mm or less, and the matrix (i.e., the combination of the aluminum oxide film and transparent substrate) may have a shatter resistance with a Young's Modulus value that is less than that of sapphire, i.e., less than about 350 gigapascals (GPa). The thin window has superior shatter-resistant characteristics.

主权项

1. A method of forming a window, the method comprising:
providing a silicate glass substrate having a top surface, the silicate glass substrate being transparent or translucent; positioning an aluminum source in an environment, the aluminum source having aluminum atoms; and using a pulsed direct current reactive sputtering process and the aluminum source to deposit an aluminum oxide film on the top surface of the silicate glass substrate, the aluminum oxide film being transparent or translucent.