High transmittance, low emissivity coatings for substrates

A high transmittance, low emissivity coated substrate comprising a substrate having a coating on a surface providing the coated substrate with a substantially neutral color, the coating comprising:

• (a) a base coat of an anti-reflective metal oxide applied to a surface of said substrate at a thickness of no more than about 275 .ANG.;
• (b) a reflective metal layer applied over said base coat;
• (c) an antireflective layer of a metal oxide carried over said reflective metal layer;
• and
• (d) an abrasion-resistant overcoat as the outermost layer of the coating, the overcoat being formed of an oxide of a metal selected from the group consisting of zinc, tin, indium, bismuth, and alloys thereof applied at a thickness which does not substantially affect the optical properties of said coating.

A high transmittance, low emissivity coated substrate comprising a substrate having a coating on a surface providing the coated substrate with a substantially neutral color over a wide range of angles of incidence, the coating comprising:

• (a) A base coated of an anti-reflective metal oxide applied to a surface of said substrate at a thickness of no more than about 275 Angstroms;
• (b) A first reflective metal layer applied over said base coat;
• (c) An intermediate layer of an anti-reflective metal oxide applied over said first reflective metal layer;
• (d) A second reflective metal layer applied over said intermediate anti-reflective layer;
• and
• (e) An outer anti-reflective layer of a metal oxide carried over said second reflective metal layer,
• the total thickness of the coating being no more than about 1600 Angstroms.