Heat treatable coated article with diamond-like carbon (DLC) and/or zirconium in coating
AssigneeGuardian Industries Corp.
InventorVijayen S. Veerasamy
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Abstract
In certain example embodiments, a coated article includes respective layers including diamond-like carbon (DLC) and zirconium nitride before heat treatment (HT). During HT, the hydrogenated DLC acts as a fuel which upon combustion with oxygen produces carbon dioxide and/or water. The high temperature developed during this combustion heats the zirconium nitride to a temperature(s) well above the heat treating temperature, thereby causing the zirconium nitride to be transformed into a new post-HT layer including zirconium oxide that is scratch resistant and durable.
Claims31
A method of making a heat treated coated article, the method comprising:
- providing a coating comprising a layer comprising zirconium nitride and a layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC);
- heat treating the coating;
- and
- wherein during said heat treating the layer comprising DLC is subject to combustion or burns off so as to generate heat sufficient to cause the layer comprising zirconium nitride to transform into a heat treated layer comprising zirconium oxide in the heat treated coated article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.