Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 September 2012
It has been demonstrated in literature that chemical liquid deposition (CLD) processes such as dip coating, spray coating, roll coating, spin coating, curtain coating, meniscus coating etc. can be successfully used to deposit anti-reflective coatings on glass substrates. In comparison to physical vapor deposition (PVD), a CLD process generally is cost efficient because of lower capital requirements to set up coating manufacturing lines. Within the realm of CLD processes only some application techniques are suitable for high speed continuous manufacturing processes to deposit coatings on large area glass substrates. Significant differences in transfer efficiencies of these high speed application processes are readily apparent when material utilization per unit area of glass are compared. Roll coat process among all the high speed CLD processes stands out for its high material transfer efficiency due to direct contact printing on flat glass substrates. Honeywell Electronic Materials expanded its line of SOLARC® anti-reflective coating materials to include a new coating formulation SOLARC® RPV, which is customized for roll coating application. This paper highlights the advantages of using SOLARC® RPV in roll coat process and the performance attributes of SOLARC® anti-reflective coatings. Durability characteristics of these anti-reflective coatings in accelerated aging tests designed to simulate harsh field conditions will also be discussed.