Patent ID: 8673406
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: C03C

Abstract:
1. A method for plasma treatment of glass surfaces, the method comprising the steps of: providing a glass substrate having a surface to be treated, the substrate at least locally having at least one alkali metal or at least one alkaline-earth metal; providing a process gas containing hydrogen or process gas mixture containing hydrogen in such a way that the surface to be treated comes in contact with the process gas; striking a hydrogen containing plasma; and reducing a content of the at least one alkali metal or alkaline-earth metal by using the hydrogen containing plasma, wherein a dielectric barrier discharge is used for the plasma treatment, wherein the content of the at least one alkali or alkaline earth metal is reduced in a superficial region of the glass substrate in that the content of the at least one alkali metal or alkaline-earth metal in terms of atomic % is reduced by a factor of at least 1.2 to a depth of at least 3 nm, wherein the temperature of the substrate during the plasma treatment does not exceed 400° C., and wherein the plasma is pulsed having pulses with a duration of between 0.1 and 10 ms and pauses between the pulses of between 2 and 200 ms.