The windows of commercial buildings and residential homes provide natural lighting for occupants, as well as views to the outside world. The features of the glass are simply taken for granted by the average person, who is ignorant of what goes into their creation. Largely unknown is the technology required for today’s “typical” windows to provide energy efficiency as well as superior light transmission. In order to offer these capabilities, the windows must contain advanced performance low-e glass which consists of multiple thin film layers of metallic elements directly coated onto the glass. These thin film layers (ranging from 20-300 Angstroms thick) are responsible for the unique glass properties – and Materion has an essential role in supplying the products that create them.
In order to produce the advanced coatings on the glass, one of the key materials utilized in the thin film layer stack is Silver. Silver acts as the IR reflector and is sputter-deposited on the glass during the manufacturing process. Materion is a key partner in meeting the market demand for delivery of high performance Silver sputtering targets to achieve quality deposition. It is critical that the final product allow light through, while still blocking heat from the sun and cold from winter weather. To meet specific requirements, often the glass will require one, two, or even three separate layers referred to as single, double, and triple Silver glass.
New building construction and the need for replacement windows for offices and residences has significantly increased the demand for low-e glass. Almost all of this type of glass has one to three layers of sputter-deposited Silver. With millions of Troy Ounces of Silver consumed per year by the glass industry for coatings, Materion produces quality Silver products and advanced material solutions necessary for your window glass applications.