Multi-pane glass unit having seal with adhesive and gas-restrictive coating layer

An insulated glass unit (IGU), comprising:

• a first pane of a transparent material;
• a second pane of a transparent material, the second pane being spaced apart from the first pane to define a cavity therebetween;
• a fill-gas disposed in the cavity between the first and second panes, the fill-gas being at least one of argon, krypton, xenon or sulfur hexaflouride;
• a first adhesive layer of a non-gas-restrictive bonding material disposed around the periphery of the cavity between portions of the first and second panes and forming a first portion of a structural connection between the first and the second panes;
• each of the first and second panes and the first adhesive layer having respective cavity-facing surfaces that face toward the cavity;
• and
• a gas-restrictive coating layer of an inorganic material coating continuously over at least the entire cavity-facing surface of the first adhesive layer and the entire respective cavity-facing surface of at least one of the first and second panes, where the gas-restrictive coating is an inorganic layer having a leak rate of the fill-gas from the cavity through the gas-restrictive coating of less than 1% of the cavity volume per year.

A method for manufacturing an insulated glass unit (IGU), the method comprising the following steps:

• providing a first pane of a transparent material having a cavity-facing surface defined thereon;
• affixing a first adhesive layer of a non-gas-restrictive bonding material around the periphery of the cavity-facing surface of the first pane, the first adhesive layer defining a respective cavity-facing surface;
• jointly coating the respective entire cavity-facing surface of the first pane and the entire cavity-facing surface of the first adhesive layer with a first continuous gas-restrictive coating layer of an inorganic material;
• providing a second pane of a transparent material having a respective cavity-facing surface defined thereon, the second pane being spaced apart from the first pane to define a cavity therebetween;
• operatively connecting the first pane, the first continuous gas-restrictive coating layer and the second pane to one another to form a gas-restrictive seal around the cavity;
• providing an inert fill-gas in the cavity between the first and second panes;
• and
• wherein the gas-restrictive coating is an inorganic layer having a leak rate of the inert fill-gas from the cavity through the gas-restrictive coating of less than 1% of the cavity volume per year.