Abstract:
A multilayer radiant-barrier structure is formed on one or both sides of a substrate that can be attached to an insulating layer to produce a reflective insulating material. The metallized layer is protected from environmental degradation without interfering with flammability properties that are critical for radiant and reflective insulation materials used in housing applications. The metal layer is modified to insulate enclosures without blocking cellular communications and the protective functional layer in modified to minimize emissivity, create a hydrophobic and/or oleophobic surface, and/or prevent mold, fungi and bacteria growth. Solutions are provided to solve occupational-hazard problems associated with the use of these materials in enclosures that include power wires.
Abstract:
A coated, low-emissivity aluminum film is manufactured entirely in vacuum by depositing an aluminum layer over a substrate and then immediately coating the metal layer with a very thin protective polymeric layer. The thickness of this coating is selected to minimize absorption in the 3-15 micron wavelength. In vacuum, the metal layer is coated substantially in the absence of moisture, thereby preventing the formation of hydrated oxides that promote corrosion. The aluminum layer is preferably also passivated by in-line exposure to a plasma gas containing an oxygen-bearing component. A leveling polymeric layer may also be deposited between relatively rough substrates and the aluminum layer in order to improve the reflectivity of the resulting structures.
Abstract:
In a continuous in-vacuum process for the manufacture of a film metallized with aluminum, the aluminum layer is exposed to a passivating agent, inline, immediately after deposition and prior to rewinding of the film onto a take-up roller. Passivation is carried out by plasma treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere (oxygen, nitrogen or others). The resulting product exhibits no peel-off problems during unwinding of the take-up roller and greatly improved corrosion resistance.
Abstract:
A process for forming a low emissivity, moisture vapor permeable metallized composite sheet by coating a moisture vapor permeable sheet with at least one metal and exposing the freshly deposited metal to an oxidizing plasma thereby forming a protective synthetic metal oxide over the metal. The composite sheet material is suitable for use as a building construction barrier layer such as roof lining and house wrap.
Abstract:
A porous substrate is pretreated in a plasma field and a functionalizing monomer is immediately flash-evaporated, deposited and cured over the porous substrate in a vacuum vapor-deposition chamber. By judiciously controlling the process so that the resulting polymer coating adheres to the surface of individual fibers in ultra-thin layers (approximately 0.02-3.0 μm) that do not extend across the pores in the material, the porosity of the porous substrate is essentially unaffected while the fibers and the final product acquire the desired functionality. The resulting polymer layer is also used to improve the adherence and durability of metallic and ceramic coatings.
Abstract:
A method of applying a polymer (116) to a glass surface (100) includes applying atmospheric plasma (110) to a glass surface (100), applying a film (116) of polymerizable fluid to the surface (100) and curing the film with high-energy radiation (114). Apparatus for applying atmospheric plasma includes positive (14, 21) and ground (15, 23) electrodes, and an emitter strip (16, 22) of porous material with a plasma gas (108) diffusing between the electrodes and through the emitter strip onto the glass surface.
Abstract:
A plasma is produced in a treatment space by diffusing a plasma gas at atmospheric pressure and subjecting it to an electric field created by two metallic electrodes separated by a dielectric material, a vapor precursor is mixed with the plasma, and a substrate material is coated by vapor deposition of the vaporized substance at atmospheric pressure in the plasma field. The use of vaporized silicon-based materials, fluorine-based materials, chlorine-based materials, and organo-metallic complex materials enables the manufacture of coated substrates with improved properties with regard to moisture-barrier, oxygen-barrier, hardness, scratch- and abrasion-resistance, chemical-resistance, low-friction, hydrophobic and/or oleophobic, hydrophilic, biocide and/or antibacterial, and electrostatic-dissipative/conductive characteristics.
Abstract:
A heterogeneous blend of small electron-donor organic molecules and polymerizable monomers is flash evaporated to provide a molecular-level vapor-phase mixture, which is then condensed and cured in-line as a homogeneous liquid layer on a flexible web containing an anodic layer. The procedure is repeated with an electron-acceptor organic substance, which is deposited over the electron-donor layer. A metallic cathode is then deposited over the electron-acceptor layer and the composite OLED product is packaged. The electrical characteristics and the thickness of the metallic cathode and the composition of the polymer layers are selected such as to produce the gasification of elemental carbon generated by dielectric breakdowns and the oxidation of any exposed cathodic surface, thereby providing a built-in mechanism to prevent the propagation of the damage caused by electrical shorts.
Abstract:
A radiation curable monomer and a dystuff are mixed in a curable formulation and fed into a hot evaporator under vacuum. The blend is flash evaporated through a nozzle and recondensed onto a moving substrate in contact with a temperature-controlled rotating drum. The condensed film is then crosslinked with a high-energy ultraviolet or electron-beam radiation source to effect cross-linking of the monomer. The resulting product consists of a crosslinked polymer matrix incorporating dyestuff molecules within its structure, which dramatically enhances the durability, solvent resistance, heat stability and migration fastness of the product. These properties can be further improved by chemically bonding the dyestuff molecules with the crosslinked polymer network, which can be accomplished by judiciously functionalizing the dyestuff with appropriate functional groups designed to polymerize or to react with the curable monomer.
Abstract:
A plasma treater incorporates a porous metallic layer in one of the electrodes. The porous layer is selected with pores of average size within one order of magnitude of the mean free path of the plasma gas at atmospheric pressure. The plasma gas is injected into the electrode at substantially atmospheric pressure and allowed to diffuse through the porous layer, thereby forming a uniform glow-discharge plasma. The film material to be treated is exposed to the plasma created between this electrode and a second electrode covered by a dielectric layer. Because of the micron size of the pores of the porous metal, each pore also produces a hollow cathode effect that facilitates the ionization of the plasma gas. As a result, a steady-state glow-discharge plasma is produced at atmospheric pressure and at power frequencies as low as 60 Hz.