Method of making coated articles and coated articles made thereby

A monolithic article, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a functional coating formed over at least a portion of the substrate;
• a protective coating formed over at least a portion of the functional coating, wherein the functional coating and the protective coating define a coating stack, and wherein the protective coating has a thickness in the range of 100 Å to 5 microns;
• and
• a polymeric material formed over at least a portion of the protective coating,
• wherein the protective coating has a refractive index that is substantially the same as the refractive index of the polymeric material.

A laminated article, comprising:

• a first substrate having a first major surface;
• a functional coating formed over at least a portion of the first major surface;
• a protective coating formed over at least a portion of the functional coating to form a coating stack, wherein the protective coating is a multilayer coating comprising at least one silicon oxide-containing layer and at least one aluminum oxide-containing layer;
• a second substrate;
• and
• a polymeric material located between the first and second substrates, with the protective coating having a refractive index substantially the same as the refractive index of the polymeric material.

A method of making a laminated article, comprising the steps of:

• providing a first substrate;
• providing a functional coating over at least a portion of the first substrate;
• providing a protective coating over at least a portion of the functional coating;
• and
• providing at least one polymeric material over at least a portion of the protective coating,
• wherein the protective coating and the polymeric material are selected such that the protective coating and the polymeric material have substantially the same refractive index.

A method of making a laminated substrate, comprising the steps of:

• providing a first substrate;
• forming a functional coating over at least a portion of the first substrate;
• and
• forming a protective coating over at least a portion of the functional coating, wherein the protective coating comprises a first layer formed over the functional coating and a second layer formed over the first layer, wherein the first layer comprises 50 wt. % to 100 wt. % alumina and 50 wt. % to 0 wt. % silica, and the second layer comprises 50 wt. % to 100 wt. % silica and 50 wt. % to 0 wt. % alumina.