Transparent article with a body and metal oxide disposed directly on the body, facilitating deposition of an electrically conductive and transparent ultra-thin metal film of a noble metal, and method of forming the same

An article comprising:

• a body, a material of the body is an alkaline earth aluminosilicate glass, a borosilicate glass, calcium fluoride (CaF2), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), fused quartz, doped fused silica, undoped fused silica, or combinations thereof;
• cupric oxide (CuO) in direct contact with the material of the body, the cupric oxide (CuO) comprising a thickness that is less than or equal to 1.0 nm;
• and
• an ultra-thin metal film disposed directly on the cupric oxide (CuO), the ultra-thin metal film comprising a thickness within a range of 1 nm to 5 nm;
• wherein the article comprises a transmittance greater than or equal to 65% throughout an electromagnetic radiation wavelength range of 300 nm to 1400 nm;
• and
• wherein the article at the ultra-thin metal film has a sheet resistance of less than or equal to 108 Ω/□, as measured with a probe station connected to a multimeter using a four-point method at four different sets of positions on the ultra-thin metal film and then averaged.

A method of manufacturing an article comprising:

• applying cupric oxide (CuO) onto a body via a physical vapor deposition technique, the body comprising a material, and thus forming an article with the cupric oxide (CuO) in direct contact with the material of the body;
• wherein, the cupric oxide (CuO) has a thickness that is less than or equal to 1.0 nm;
• wherein, the article comprises a transmittance greater than or equal to 90% throughout an electromagnetic radiation wavelength range of 300 nm to 800 nm, and
• wherein the material of the body is an alkaline earth aluminosilicate glass, a borosilicate glass, calcium fluoride (CaF2), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), fused quartz, doped fused silica, undoped fused silica, or combinations thereof.

An article comprising:

• a body comprising a material;
• cupric oxide (CuO) in direct contact with the material of the body, the cupric oxide (CuO) comprising a thickness that is less than or equal to 1.0 nm;
• an ultra-thin metal film comprising a metal disposed directly on the cupric oxide (CuO), the ultra-thin metal film further comprising a thickness within a range of 1 nm to 5 nm;
• and
• a second film comprising the same metal as the ultra-thin metal film disposed on the substrate but not contacting the ultra-thin metal film, the second film further comprising a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the ultra-thin metal film;
• wherein, the article is at the ultra-thin metal film has a sheet resistance of less than or equal to 108 Ω/□, as measured with a probe station connected to a multimeter using a four-point method at four different sets of positions on the ultra-thin metal film and then averaged.