Have you ever noticed that during the summer the office stays cool despite numerous windows and a bright shining sun? Or, in the winter it’s warm inside and not as cold as it is outside? This phenomenon is due to Low Emissivity (Low-E) Coatings on the glass. These coatings are primarily used on commercial building windows but can also be found on car windows and some residential buildings as well.
Low-E Coatings on glass are a high efficiency protection of a glass surface for transparency. These coatings help the glass become energy efficient to allow the sunlight to come in or reflect out. The Low-E Coating is designed in a way that when the sunlight is more direct (during the summer months) it refracts most of it out so there’s less sunlight coming into the house and heating it. Likewise, in the
winter the coating will allow the sunlight to come in more to warm up the interior of the building due to the grazing incidence of the sun.
There are critical layers that aid in making the sunlight refractive. The most important layer is the silver layer. This layer causes the light to be refracted out or allowed in. This layer needs to be protected because if it is exposed to the elements, it can quickly degrade; so, there are additional layers put around the silver layer to protect it for the durability of the window glass.
EAG adds value for Low-E Glass coating manufacturers in that EAG offers the characterization of multi-layer films. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) characterizations are used to see low level impurities introduced during the manufacturing or after a period of time. Secondarily, Microscopy can be used to measure the layer thickness and morphology of films (the physical characteristics).
EAG is the industry standard for SIMS analysis, offering the best detection limits, along with accurate concentration and layer structure identification. EAG’s depth and scope of experience and commitment to research and development in the SIMS field is unrivaled. EAG has the largest range of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry instruments worldwide (more than 40), staffed by exceptionally qualified scientists. EAG also has the world’s largest reference material library of ion-implanted and bulk-doped standards for accurate SIMS quantification.
Contact Us today to learn more about how we can meet your Low-E Glass Coating glass testing needs.
During this live Ask the Expert event, we will answer pre-submitted questions from our audience regarding materials analysis with various X-ray and ion beam analytical techniques.
The Dual Beam FIB-SEM integrates a focused ion beam with a scanning electron microscope for simultaneous sample prepping and imaging.
It’s cool to know that some of the analytical techniques available at EAG, such as SEM and XRD, are being used to analyze a sample from space! How awesome is that?
May 15, 2024
Please join us for coffee and conversations! Enjoy a cup of coffee and pastries as you get to know our technical experts.
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