The impressive performance of the latest architectural glass products is often down to their extremely thin surface coatings.
Surface coatings are made up of many different layers, each around 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.
The order of these layers and their exact thickness determines how the glass performs. The advanced scientific techniques used are essential in measuring and understanding the microscopic structures involved.
In Buildingtalk’s Video of the Week, Gary Nichol of Pilkington Group Limited talks us through the scientific research and development capabilities available to the company at its European Technical Centre in Lathom, Lancashire.
Gary Nichol is the resource group manager for thin film technology at Pilkington. In the video, he explains the role that methods such as depth-profiling mass spectrometry, electron microscopy and X-Ray diffraction play in developing new coating and further improving existing products.
Coatings developed at the Lathom facility feature on a wide range of Pilkington products including its Activ self-cleaning glass, K Glass thermal insulating glass and Suncool solar-control glass.
