Electronic device with coating on a curved substrate

Abstract

The present disclosure provides electronic devices having coatings on curved substrates. An electronic device can have a housing surrounding an interior in which electrical components are mounted. A display can be mounted to the housing. The housing can have one or more curved housing portions, such as a display cover layer and / or a back housing wall that overlap the display. A hard coat film and an anti-reflective coating can be formed on the curved housing portion. The hard coat film and anti-reflective coating can have a uniform thickness across the curved housing portion, or can taper across the curved portion. If desired, a buffer layer can be interposed between the hard coat film and anti-reflective coating and the curved portion. The hard coat film and anti-reflective coating can be formed from a single layer of hard coat film, or can be formed from multiple layers including one or more hard coat film layers and one or more anti-reflective layers. One or more of the layers of the hard coat film and anti-reflective coating can be formed from a nanolaminate.

Description

[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 19 / 575,754, filed March 23, 2026; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 931,353, filed December 4, 2025; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 794,547, filed April 25, 2025, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates generally to electronic devices, including electronic devices with a housing. Background Technology

[0003] Electronic devices such as cellular phones, computers, watches, and other devices may include a housing structure and components within the housing structure. For example, an electronic device may have a display in which a pixel array is covered by a display overlay and / or may have a rear housing wall. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Electronic devices may have a housing in which a display is mounted. The housing may be formed by a housing structure surrounding an internal region of the electronic device. Electronic components may be mounted inside the electronic device.

[0005] The display can be coupled to a housing structure on the front of an electronic device. The housing may have one or more curved housing portions, such as a display cover layer overlapping the display and / or a rear housing wall opposite the display.

[0006] A hard coating and an anti-reflective coating may be formed on the one or more curved housing portions. The hard coating and anti-reflective coating may have a uniform thickness across the curved housing portion, or may taper across the curved portion. If desired, a buffer layer may be inserted between the hard coating and anti-reflective coating and the curved housing portion.

[0007] The hard coating and anti-reflective coating can be formed from a single hard coating layer or from multiple layers, including one or more hard coating layers and one or more sets of anti-reflective layers. The anti-reflective layer can be below, inside, or on top of the one or more hard coating layers. One or more layers of the hard coating and anti-reflective coating can be formed from nanolayers comprising multiple layers with nanoscale thickness to provide optical properties and sufficient hardness. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 A perspective view of an exemplary electronic device according to some implementation schemes.

[0009] Figure 2 A side view of an exemplary electronic device having a transparent layer forming a housing wall, according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 3A A side view of a curved housing portion having a uniform hard coating and an anti-reflective coating according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 3B A side view of a curved housing portion having a tapered hard coating and an anti-reflective coating, according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 3C This is a side view of a curved housing portion according to some embodiments, wherein a buffer layer is located between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating and the curved housing portion.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a side view of an exemplary single-layer hard coating on a housing portion according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a side view of an exemplary hard coating and anti-reflective coating according to some embodiments, wherein the hard coating layer is inserted between the anti-reflective layer and the housing portion.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a side view of an exemplary hard coating and anti-reflective coating according to some embodiments, wherein the anti-reflective layer is interposed between two hard coating layers on the housing portion.

[0016] Figure 7 This is a side view of an exemplary hard coating and anti-reflective coating according to some embodiments, wherein the anti-reflective layer is inserted between the hard coating layer and the housing portion.

[0017] Figure 8 This is a side view of an illustrative hard coating and anti-reflective coating according to some embodiments, wherein the hard coating layer is interposed between two anti-reflective layers on the housing portion.

[0018] Figure 9 This is a side view of an exemplary nanolayer compound that can be used to form one or more layers of hard coatings or hard coatings and antireflective coatings according to some embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0019] Electronic devices may include housing walls, such as display overlays or rear housing walls. These housing walls may be formed of glass, ceramic, sapphire, and / or another suitable material. Housing walls may be curved. For example, a housing wall may be curved across the entire housing wall or at one or more edges of the housing wall. The curvature of the housing wall may be simple or complex.

[0020] The outer casing wall may be coated to reduce scratches and reflections. Therefore, the outer casing wall may be coated with a hard coating and an anti-reflective coating. The hard coating and anti-reflective coating may be formed within the hard coating layer, or multiple layers may be formed, comprising one or more hard coating layers and one or more sets of anti-reflective layers. The anti-reflective layer may be below, inside, or on top of the one or more hard coating layers. The coating may be applied uniformly across the curved outer casing wall, or the coating may taper in thickness in the curved region. Alternatively or additionally, a buffer layer may be inserted between the outer casing wall and the coating.

[0021] Figure 1 The illustration shows an exemplary electronic device of a type that may have one or more housing portions having a hard coating and an anti-reflective coating. Electronic device 10 may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular phone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device (such as a wristwatch), a hanging device, a headset or handset device, a device embedded in glasses or other equipment worn on a user's head (e.g., a head-mounted device), or other wearable or micro-devices, a television set, a computer monitor not containing an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system (such as a system with electronic equipment with a display installed in an information kiosk or car), equipment that performs two or more functions of these devices, accessories (e.g., earbuds, a remote control, a wireless touchpad, etc.), or other electronic equipment. Figure 1 In the exemplary configuration, device 10 is a portable device, such as a cellular phone, media player, tablet computer, or other portable computing device. Other configurations may be used for device 10 if desired. Figure 1 The examples are merely illustrative.

[0022] exist Figure 1 In the example, device 10 includes a display, such as display 14 mounted in housing 12. Housing 12, sometimes referred to as a shell or enclosure, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, gold, etc.), other suitable materials, or any combination of two or more of these materials. Housing 12 may be formed in a one-piece configuration, in which a portion or all of housing 12 is machined or molded into a single structure, or it may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures forming the surface of the outer housing, etc.).

[0023] Display 14 may be a touchscreen display, which incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.), or it may be a display without touch sensitivity. The capacitive touchscreen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures.

[0024] The display 14 may include a pixel array formed by liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an electrophoretic pixel array, a plasma pixel array, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) pixel array or other light-emitting diodes (e.g., micro LEDs), an electrowetting pixel array or pixels based on other display technologies.

[0025] Display 14 may include one or more layers of transparent material. For example, the outermost layer of display 14 (sometimes referred to as the display cover) may be formed of a hard, transparent material (such as glass, ceramic, sapphire, or other suitable material) to help protect display 14 from damage. If desired, the display cover may form the front housing wall of housing 12. Other parts of device 10, such as portions of housing 12 and / or other structures, may also be formed of transparent materials. For example, walls in housing 12 (such as rear housing walls and / or side walls) may be formed of glass, ceramic, sapphire, or other suitable materials.

[0026] Figure 2 A cross-sectional side view of device 10 is shown in the figure. (As shown) Figure 2 As shown, device 10 may have an interior 24 in which electronic components 22 are housed. Electronic components 22 may include integrated circuits, sensors, and other circuit systems. For example, electronic components 22 may form wireless communication circuits, wireless charging circuits, processing circuits, and / or display circuits. Generally, any desired circuitry can be formed in device 10. Component 22 may be mounted on one or more printed circuits (such as printed circuit 20).

[0027] like Figure 2As shown, device 10 may have opposing front and back sides. A display 14 may be formed on the front side of device 10 (e.g., display 14 may face the front of device 10) and may be covered by a display cover 12FW (also referred to herein as front housing wall 12FW). A housing 12 separating the interior 24 from the exterior 26 may have a rear housing wall 12RW (also referred herein as rear cover 12RW) on the opposing back side of device 10 (e.g., rear housing wall 12RW may face the rear of device 10). At least a portion of one or both of the display cover 12FW and the rear housing wall 12RW may be formed of a transparent material (such as glass, ceramic, sapphire, or other suitable material). For example, all of one or both of the display cover 12FW and the rear housing wall 12RW may be formed of a transparent material (such as glass). However, this is merely illustrative. Generally, any desired portion of the display cover 12FW and / or the rear housing wall 12RW may be formed of a transparent material. Alternatively, at least a portion of the display cover 12FW, the housing wall 12RW, and / or other parts of the housing 12 may be formed of a non-transparent material (such as an opaque material), a transparent material coated with a non-transparent coating, etc.

[0028] Portions of the housing 12 may also form the sidewalls 12SW of the device 10. As an example, these sidewall portions of the housing 12 may be formed of a material such as metal, may be formed of glass, may be formed of the same layer as the rear housing wall 12RW, and / or may be formed of the same layer as the display cover layer 12FW. If desired, the display cover layer 12FW, the rear housing wall 12RW, and / or the sidewalls 12SW may be formed of a transparent material. Depending on the requirements, some or all of the display cover layer 12FW, the rear housing wall 12RW, and / or the sidewalls 12SW may be curved, while some or all of these walls may be planar.

[0029] The display 14 may include a display cover layer (e.g., a glass layer) forming the front housing wall 12FW of the housing 12 and may include a display module 18 (e.g., a display layer forming a pixel array for presenting an image to a user on the front of the device 10). The display module 18 may be a liquid crystal display structure, an organic light-emitting diode display structure, a micro LED display structure, or another suitable display. During operation, the display module 18 may present an image visible through the display cover layer 12FW. The rear portion of the housing of the device 10 may be formed of a glass structure (e.g., the rear housing wall 12RW may be formed of a glass layer). The thickness of the rear housing wall 12RW may be 0.2 mm to 5 mm, at least 0.05 mm, at least 0.1 mm, at least 0.2 mm, at least 0.5 mm, at least 0.75 mm, less than 1 mm, less than 2 mm, or other suitable thickness. If desired, a metal plate or other reinforcing structure may be laminated to portions of the inner surfaces of the rear housing wall 12RW and / or the side walls 12SW to enhance the strength of the housing walls.

[0030] Invalid boundary areas in the display overlay 12FW (e.g., areas where the display module 18 does not display images) and portions of other glass structures in the device 10 (such as some or all of the rear housing wall 12RW and / or side walls 12SW) may be covered with coatings and other structures. In some arrangements, the coating may primarily serve to block light (e.g., to hide internal device structures from view). For example, a coating may be formed on the inner surface of the rear housing wall 12RW to conceal internal components from view. In other arrangements, patterned coatings may be used to form text, logos, decorations, and / or other visible patterns. Unpatterned coatings covering all rear housing walls 12RW and / or side walls 12SW may also be used to prevent internal structures from being seen and / or to provide the desired appearance of the device 10. Patterned coatings can create visible elements and also prevent internal structures from being seen.

[0031] The coating on the glass structure in device 10 may be black or other neutral colors, or may have a non-black (non-neutral) color (e.g., blue, red, yellow, gold, rose gold, magenta, pink, etc.). In some configurations, some or all of the coating used on the glass structure in device 10 may be glossy (e.g., exhibiting a specular reflective surface with a reflectivity of at least 50%, at least 80%, at least 95%, less than 99.99%, or other suitable reflectivity).

[0032] The coatings on the rear housing wall 12RW and / or other glass structures in device 10 may be formed of metals, semiconductors, and / or dielectrics. The dielectric material used for the coating may include organic materials such as polymer layers, and / or inorganic materials such as oxide layers, nitride layers, and / or other inorganic dielectric materials. In arrangements where a bright surface is desired, a metallic coating with high reflectivity or a thin-film interference filter with a dielectric layer (e.g., a stack of dielectric layers with alternating higher and lower refractive index values) may be configured as a specular coating (reflective coating). If desired, an ink coating may also be incorporated into the glass structure.

[0033] In some embodiments, one or more portions of the housing 12 (such as the front housing wall 12FW and / or the rear housing wall 12RW) may be curved. For example, portions of the housing 12 may have curved edges and / or other portions with curvature. It may be desirable to increase the scratch resistance of the curved portions of the housing and reduce reflections from the curved portions of the housing. Therefore, one or more curved portions of the housing may be coated with a hard coating and an anti-reflective coating. Figure 3A An illustrative example is shown below.

[0034] like Figure 3A As shown, device 10 may include a housing wall 12W (also referred to herein as housing portion 12W). The housing wall 12W may be formed of glass, plastic, polycarbonate, ceramic, sapphire, acrylic, polymer, or another suitable material. The housing wall 12W may have a surface 15 and a surface 17. Surface 15 may be an interior facing device 10 (e.g., Figure 2 The inner surface of the device 10 (24), and the surface 17 may be the outer surface facing the device 10 (e.g., Figure 2 The outer surface of the exterior (26).

[0035] The housing wall 12W can be a curved housing wall. For example, the housing wall 12W may have curved edges 13 (e.g., at the periphery of the housing wall 12W). In some embodiments, the housing wall 12W may have one or more planar portions (such as a central portion) and one or more curved portions (such as one or more curved edges). However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, the entire housing wall 12W may be curved.

[0036] Regardless of which portion(s) of the outer shell wall 12W is curved, that portion(s) may have a simple curvature (e.g., the outer shell wall 12W may be curved along a single axis and thus can be flattened into a plane without deformation), or may have a complex curvature (e.g., one or both of surfaces 15 and 17 may be non-flattenable surfaces that cannot be flattened into a plane without deformation).

[0037] A hard coating and an anti-reflective coating 28 (also referred to herein as coating 28) may be formed on the surface 17 of the housing portion 12W (e.g., directly on the surface). The hard coating and the anti-reflective coating 28 may be both a hard coating formed of a material harder than the housing portion 12W and an anti-reflective coating formed of a material that reduces reflections from the housing portion 12W (e.g., a material with a refractive index between the refractive index of the housing portion 12W and the refractive index of air).

[0038] The hard coating and anti-reflective coating 28 may include one or more coatings. In some exemplary instances, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating 28 may be a single hard coating layer. Thus, the single layer may include silicon oxynitride, aluminum silicon nitride, aluminum silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and / or other suitable materials.

[0039] exist Figure 3A In the example, coating 28 has a uniform thickness across surface 17 of housing portion 12W. For example, coating 28 may have a thickness T that, as an example, varies by less than 5%, less than 3%, or less than 1% across surface 17 (including the curved edge 13 across housing portion 12W). Therefore, coating 28 may provide uniform scratch protection across surface 17.

[0040] In some implementations, it may be desirable to reduce the thickness of the coating 28 at the curved portion of the housing portion 12W. Figure 3B An illustrative example is shown below.

[0041] like Figure 3B As shown, coating 28 may have a first thickness T1 in one or more portions of the housing portion 12W that do not overlap with the curved edge 13, and may have a second thickness T2 at the curved edge 13. The second thickness T2 may differ from the first thickness T1 by more than 10%, more than 25%, more than 50%, or another suitable amount. Across the curved edge 13, the thickness of coating 28 may taper (e.g., gradually decrease) between the first thickness T1 and the second thickness T2.

[0042] although Figure 3B The diagram shows coating 28 tapering at the curved edge 13, but this is merely illustrative. In general, coating 28 may tape across any curved portion of the housing portion 12W. In this way, coating 28 can be thinner in areas of high stress in the housing portion 12W (e.g., curved portions of the housing portion 12W), thereby allowing high-stress portions of the housing portion 12W to retain strength when coating 28 is applied to the housing portion 12W.

[0043] Regardless of whether the coating 28 spans the 12W portion of the outer shell has a uniform thickness (e.g.) Figure 3A (as shown) or a tapered thickness (as shown) Figure 3BAs shown), a buffer layer can be provided between the outer shell portion 12W and the coating 28. Figure 3C An illustrative example is shown below.

[0044] like Figure 3C As shown, a buffer layer 30 may be formed between the housing portion 12W and the coating 28. For example, the buffer layer 30 may be located (e.g., directly on) the surface 17 of the housing portion 12W, and the coating 28 may be located (e.g., directly on) the buffer layer 30. The buffer layer 30 may be a buffer layer with a low elastic modulus and may be made of silicon carbide, silicon hydrogen oxide, or a material with the chemical formula SiO2. x N y C z The coating 28 is formed from compounds, compounds having the chemical formula SiOxNyCz:H, or other suitable materials. In this way, when the coating 28 is formed on the housing portion 12W, the buffer layer 30 can reduce or prevent the degradation of the strength of the housing portion 12W.

[0045] Generally, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating 28 may comprise one or more layers. For example, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating 28 may comprise a single hard coating layer. Figure 4 An illustrative example is shown below.

[0046] like Figure 4 As shown, coating 28 is a single layer on the housing portion 12W. Therefore, coating 28 can be formed of a hard coating material. As an illustrative example, coating 28 can be formed of silicon oxynitride (e.g., SiON), aluminum silicon nitride (e.g., SiAlN), or another suitable material. In some embodiments, coating 28 can be formed of a mixture of materials. One or more materials forming coating 28 can be harder than housing portion 12W (e.g., having a higher Mohs hardness) to provide hard coating properties. Therefore, coating 28 can be a single-layer hard coating on housing portion 12W.

[0047] In other embodiments, coating 28 may be formed of two or more layers. Figure 5 An illustrative example is shown below.

[0048] like Figure 5 As shown, coating 28 may include a hard coating layer 29 and an anti-reflective layer 34. The hard coating layer 29 may be formed of any suitable material that is harder than the housing portion 12W (e.g., has a higher Mohs hardness value) to provide hard coating properties.

[0049] The antireflective layer 34 may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or another suitable material with a refractive index between that of the exterior of device 10 (e.g., corresponding to the refractive index 1 of air) and that of the housing portion 12W to provide antireflective properties. However, this is merely illustrative. In general, the antireflective layer 34 may be formed as a single layer or as multiple layers (such as multiple thin film layers (e.g., thin film dielectric layers)) that may have different refractive indices.

[0050] In some embodiments, the antireflective layer 34 may have a refractive index gradient varying between a first refractive index and a second refractive index, the first refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of air or another lower refractive index (e.g., SiO2 or the lower refractive index SiON), and the second refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the housing portion 12W. For example, the antireflective layer 34 may have a continuous, smooth refractive index gradient between the first and second refractive indices, or the antireflective layer 34 may have another suitable refractive index gradient, such as a stepped gradient. The antireflective layer 34 may have a refractive index gradient within a single layer or across multiple layers (e.g., each layer may have a different refractive index to form a refractive index gradient).

[0051] The hard coating layer 29 may have a refractive index higher than that of the antireflective layer 34 and higher than that of the housing portion 12W. However, this is only illustrative. In some embodiments, if desired, the hard coating layer 29 may have a refractive index between that of the antireflective layer 34 and the housing portion 12W to improve the antireflective properties of the coating 28. Generally, the antireflective layer 34 and the hard coating layer 29 may have suitable refractive indices to form the hard coating and the antireflective coating 28 on the housing portion 12W.

[0052] although Figure 5 A hard coating layer 29 is shown inserted between the antireflective layer 34 and the housing portion 12W, but this is only illustrative. Generally, the hard coating layer 29 may include one or more hard coating layers and one or more antireflective layers, and the hard coating layers and antireflective layers may be stacked in any suitable manner. Figure 6 An illustrative example is shown below.

[0053] like Figure 6 As shown, coating 28 may include two hard coating layers 29A and 29B and an anti-reflective layer 36 located between the hard coating layers 29A and 29B. The hard coating layers 29A and 29B may be formed of any suitable material that is harder than the housing portion 12W (e.g., has a higher Mohs hardness value) to provide hard coating properties.

[0054] The antireflective layer 36 may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or another suitable material with a low refractive index. In some embodiments, the antireflective layer 36 may have a refractive index between the refractive index of the exterior of device 10 (e.g., corresponding to the refractive index 1 of air) and the refractive index of the housing portion 12W. For example, if desired, the antireflective layer 36 may have a refractive index between the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29A and the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29B (or the housing portion 12W). However, this is merely illustrative. In general, the antireflective layer 36 may have any suitable refractive index to provide antireflective properties. Alternatively, the antireflective layer 36 may be formed as a single layer or may be formed as multiple layers (such as multiple thin film layers (e.g., thin film dielectric layers)) that may have different refractive indices.

[0055] In some embodiments, the antireflective layer 36 may have a refractive index gradient varying between a first refractive index and a second refractive index, the first refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29A, and the second refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29B. However, this is merely illustrative. In general, the antireflective layer 36 may have a refractive index gradient between any low and high refractive index. For example, the antireflective layer 36 may have a continuous, smooth refractive index gradient between the first and second refractive indices, or the antireflective layer 36 may have another suitable refractive index gradient, such as a stepped gradient. The antireflective layer 36 may have a refractive index gradient within a single layer or across multiple layers (e.g., each layer may have a different refractive index to form a refractive index gradient).

[0056] If desired, the hard coating layer 29B may have a refractive index between that of the antireflective layer 36 and the housing portion 12W to improve the antireflective properties of the coating 28. In this way, the antireflective layer 36, as well as the hard coating layers 29A and 29B, may be formed on the housing portion 12W as a hard coating and an antireflective coating 28.

[0057] In some embodiments, coating 28 may include an anti-reflective layer located between the hard coating layer and the housing portion 12W. Figure 7 An illustrative example is shown below.

[0058] like Figure 7 As shown, coating 28 may include an antireflective layer 38 located between the hard coating layer 29 and the housing portion 12W. The antireflective layer 38 may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or another suitable material with a refractive index between that of the hard coating layer 29 and that of the housing portion 12W to provide antireflective properties. However, this is merely illustrative. Generally, the antireflective layer 38 may be formed as a single layer or may be formed of multiple layers (such as multiple thin film layers, e.g., thin film dielectric layers) that may have different refractive indices.

[0059] In some embodiments, the antireflective layer 38 may have a refractive index gradient varying between a first refractive index and a second refractive index, the first refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of air or the hard coating layer 29, and the second refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the housing portion 12W. For example, the antireflective layer 38 may have a continuous, smooth refractive index gradient between the first and second refractive indices, or the antireflective layer 38 may have another suitable refractive index gradient, such as a stepped gradient. In this way, the antireflective layer 38 and the hard coating layer 29 may be formed on the housing portion 12W as a hard coating and antireflective coating 28. The antireflective layer 38 may have a refractive index gradient within a single layer or across multiple layers (e.g., each layer may have a different refractive index to form a refractive index gradient).

[0060] In some implementations, coating 28 may include multiple anti-reflective layers. Figure 8 An illustrative example is shown below.

[0061] like Figure 8 As shown, coating 28 may include two antireflective layers 40A and 40B and a hard coating layer 29 interposed between the antireflective layers 40A and 40B. Antireflective layers 40A and 40B may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or other suitable materials with a refractive index between the refractive index of the exterior of device 10 (e.g., corresponding to the refractive index 1 of air) and the refractive index of the housing portion 12W to provide antireflective properties. However, this is merely illustrative. Generally, antireflective layers 40A and 40B may each be formed as a single layer, or may each be formed as multiple layers (such as multiple thin film layers (e.g., thin film dielectric layers)) with different refractive indices.

[0062] More specifically, antireflective layer 40A may have a refractive index between the refractive index of the exterior of device 10 (e.g., air) and the refractive index of hard coating layer 29. Antireflective layer 40B may have a refractive index between the refractive index of hard coating layer 29 and the refractive index of housing portion 12W. Therefore, antireflective layers 40A and 40B may have different refractive indices. However, this is merely illustrative. If desired, antireflective layers 40A and 40B may have the same refractive index.

[0063] In some embodiments, antireflective layers 40A and 40B have a gradient of refractive indices. For example, antireflective layer 40A may have a refractive index gradient varying between a first refractive index and a second refractive index, the first refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of air or another low refractive index (such as SiO2), and the second refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29. Antireflective layer 40B may have a first refractive index and a second refractive index, the first refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the hard coating layer 29, and the second refractive index matching (or close to) the refractive index of the housing portion 12W (e.g., having a high refractive index in between). For example, antireflective layers 40A and 40B may have a continuous, smooth refractive index gradient between the first and second refractive indices, or antireflective layers 40A and 40B may have another suitable refractive index gradient, such as a stepped gradient. In this way, antireflective layers 40A and 40B, as well as hard coating layer 29, can be formed on the housing portion 12W with hard coating and antireflective coating 28. Antireflective layers 40A and 40B may each have a refractive index gradient within a single layer or across multiple layers (e.g., each layer may have a different refractive index to form a refractive index gradient).

[0064] In some embodiments, one or more layers of coating 28 may be replaced by a nanolayer compound comprising multiple thin materials having nanoscale thicknesses. For example, coating 28 ( Figure 4 ), hard coating layer 29 and / or anti-reflective layer 34 ( Figure 5 ), anti-reflective layer 36 and / or hard coating layer 29A / B ( Figure 6 ), anti-reflective layer 38 and / or hard coating layer 29 ( Figure 7 ) and / or hard coating layer 29 and / or anti-reflective layer 40A / B ( Figure 8 It can be replaced by nanolayers. Figure 9 The illustration shows exemplary examples that can be used to form one or more of these layers.

[0065] like Figure 9 As shown, the nanolayer 42 may include layers 44, 46, and / or 48. Layer 44 may include, for example, a SiO2 layer and / or other layers with low refractive indices. Layer 46 may include, for example, a SiN layer, a Si3N4 layer, a Nb2O5 layer, an Al2O3 layer, an AlN layer, a ZrO2 layer, or other layers with high refractive indices. In other words, layers 44 and 46 may be alternating layers with high and low refractive indices. Layers 44 and 46 may have nanoscale thicknesses of less than 30 nm, 25 nm or smaller, between 1 nm and 25 nm, at least 1 nm, between 5 nm and 15 nm, or other suitable thicknesses.

[0066] In some specific embodiments, layer 44 of the nanolayer 42 may be a SiO2 layer, and layer 46 may be a SiN layer. Layers 44 and 46 may alternate throughout the nanolayer 42 from top to bottom (e.g., as shown in the figure). Figure 9 (As shown in section 45). In this way, the nanolayer 42 can replace the SiON layer and provide better antireflective properties (e.g., a lower refractive index than SiN) and higher hardness (e.g., higher hardness than SiO2). However, the use of SiO2 and SiN is only illustrative. In general, the nanolayer 42 may comprise alternating layers of any suitable material, such as SiOxNy layers, to replace the SiON layer in coating 28.

[0067] although Figure 9 Layer 44 is shown as the uppermost layer of nanolayer 42, but this is merely illustrative. In some embodiments, layer 46 may form the uppermost layer of nanolayer 42. Similarly, layer 44, layer 46, or another suitable layer may form the lowermost layer of nanolayer 42.

[0068] The use of alternating layers 44 and 46 is merely illustrative. Instead of including alternating layers 44 and 46, or otherwise, the nanolayer 42 can be an asymmetric stack of layers. For example, as... Figure 9 As shown in section 47, two layers 46 may be stacked on top of each other, and / or two layers 44 may be stacked on top of each other. Forming the nanolayer 42 as an asymmetric stack of layers 44 and 46 allows for tuning of the optical properties of the nanolayer 42.

[0069] The nanolayer compound 42 may be formed entirely of alternating layers (e.g., as shown in section 45), may be formed entirely asymmetrically (e.g., as shown in section 47), or may be formed of alternating and asymmetrical portions.

[0070] In some embodiments, nanolayer 42 may be bonded to or terminated with an oxide material, such as CrOx, TiOx, or a gradient composition between two composite materials. For example, nanolayer 42 may terminate with layer 48, which may be formed of CrOx, TiOx, or a gradient composition between two composite materials (e.g., SiON between a SiO2 layer and a SiN layer). Layer 48 may have a thickness of at least 3 nm, less than 10 nm, less than 25 nm, between 3 nm and 20 nm, or another suitable thickness. In other words, layer 48 may have a nanoscale thickness. Terminating nanolayer 42 with layer 48 may allow for stronger adhesion between nanolayer 42 and surrounding layers (e.g., surrounding layers in coating 28 and / or the substrate on which coating 28 is formed).

[0071] Although layer 48 is shown as being formed at the bottom of nanolayer 42, this is merely illustrative. In general, layer 48 may be formed at the top of nanolayer 42, at the bottom of nanolayer 42, and / or within the stacked structure of nanolayer 42.

[0072] If desired, the layers of nanolayer 42 (e.g., layers 44 and 46) can be varied with different levels of compressive and tensile stress. By changing the stress in each layer, the overall stress distribution of nanolayer 42 can be designed as needed.

[0073] although Figure 9 Not shown, but one or more quasi-ductile materials may be incorporated into the nanolayer 42. These materials may include metals and / or amorphous carbon. By incorporating one or more of these quasi-ductile materials into the nanolayer 42, stress in the nanolayer 42 and / or crack propagation in the nanolayer 42 may be reduced.

[0074] Layers 42, 46, 48, and / or other layers in the nanolayer 42 can be deposited using physical vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and / or other suitable deposition methods. The nanolayer 42 may have a total thickness of 8 nm to 1800 nm, less than 100 nm, less than 1000 nm, at least 10 nm, 25 nm to 50 nm, less than 500 nm, or another suitable thickness.

[0075] As discussed, nanolayer compound 42 can replace one or more layers of coating 28, such as coating 28 ( Figure 4 ), hard coating layer 29 and / or anti-reflective layer 34 ( Figure 5 ), anti-reflective layer 36 and / or hard coating layer 29A / B ( Figure 6 ), anti-reflective layer 38 and / or hard coating layer 29 ( Figure 7 ) and / or hard coating layer 29 and / or anti-reflective layer 40A / B ( Figure 8 In some specific implementations, the nanolayer compound 42 may form the outermost layer of the coating 28 (e.g., replaceable). Figures 4 to 8 One of the outermost layers of coating 28 in the process, thus allowing nanolayers 42 to provide improved optical and hardness properties.

[0076] although Figures 4 to 9 Not shown, but buffer layers (such as) Figure 3C A buffer layer 30 may be formed between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating 28 and the housing portion 12W. Additionally, the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating 28 may be applied uniformly across the housing portion 12W (e.g., Figure 3A (as shown), or may taper across one or more curved portions of the housing portion 12W (as shown). Figure 3B(As shown).

[0077] Although coating 28 has been described as being formed on the wall or portion of the electronic device housing (such as housing wall 12W), this is merely illustrative. In general, coating 28 can be formed on any suitable device having a curved substrate (such as a curved glass layer). In this way, coating 28 protects the curved substrate of the device from scratches while reducing reflections from the curved substrate.

[0078] According to one embodiment, an electronic device having an interior includes: a housing that separates the interior from the exterior, wherein the housing includes a curved housing wall having a first surface facing the interior and an opposing second surface facing the exterior; a display located within the housing; and a hard coating and an anti-reflective coating located on the second surface of the curved housing wall.

[0079] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating optionally have a uniform thickness across the curved housing wall.

[0080] According to another embodiment, the curved housing wall optionally includes a curved edge, and the hard coating and anti-reflective coating optionally have a tapered thickness at the curved edge.

[0081] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally includes a buffer layer interposed between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating, wherein the buffer layer is optionally located directly on the second surface, and the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating are optionally located directly on the buffer layer.

[0082] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating are optionally a single-layer hard coating.

[0083] According to another embodiment, the single-layer hard coating optionally comprises aluminum silicon oxynitride, silicon oxynitride, or aluminum silicon nitride.

[0084] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating optionally include a hard coating layer and an anti-reflective layer.

[0085] According to another embodiment, the hard coating layer is optionally inserted between the curved housing wall and the anti-reflective layer.

[0086] According to another embodiment, the hard coating layer is optionally a first hard coating layer, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating include a second hard coating layer located on the anti-reflective layer, and the anti-reflective layer is interposed between the first hard coating layer and the second hard coating layer.

[0087] According to another embodiment, the anti-reflective layer is optionally inserted between the curved housing wall and the hard coating layer.

[0088] According to another embodiment, the antireflective layer is optionally a first antireflective layer, the hard coating and the antireflective coating further include a second antireflective layer, and the hard coating is interposed between the first antireflective layer and the second antireflective layer.

[0089] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and antireflective coating optionally include nanolayers.

[0090] According to another embodiment, the nanolayer optionally includes alternating layers with high and low refractive indices, and the alternating layers have a thickness of 25 nm or less.

[0091] According to another embodiment, the alternating layers optionally include a SiO2 layer and a SiN layer.

[0092] According to another embodiment, the nanolayer compound optionally forms the outermost layer of the hard coating and antireflective coating.

[0093] According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a housing having a surface with a curved portion; a display located within the housing; and a hard coating and an anti-reflective coating located on the surface of the housing, wherein the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating have a tapered thickness across the curved portion of the surface.

[0094] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally includes a buffer layer that is interposed between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating and the surface of the housing.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating are optionally a single layer.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the hard coating and anti-reflective coating optionally include a hard coating layer and an anti-reflective layer.

[0097] According to another embodiment, the hard coating layer is optionally inserted between the surface of the housing and the anti-reflective layer.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the anti-reflective layer is optionally inserted between the surface of the housing and the hard coating layer.

[0099] According to one embodiment, an apparatus having an interior includes a curved glass layer having a first surface facing the interior, an opposing second surface, and a curved edge; and a single-layer hard coating film located on the second surface of the curved glass layer.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the single-layer hard coating optionally includes silicon oxynitride, aluminum silicon oxynitride, or aluminum silicon nitride.

[0101] According to another embodiment, the single-layer hard coating optionally has a tapered thickness across the curved edge.

[0102] The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described implementation scheme. The foregoing implementation scheme can be implemented individually or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device having an internal component, the electronic device comprising: An outer casing that separates the interior from the exterior, wherein the outer casing includes a curved outer casing wall having a first surface facing the interior and an opposing second surface facing the exterior; The display is located within the housing; as well as A hard coating and an anti-reflective coating are located on the second surface of the curved housing wall.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the hard coating and anti-reflective coating have a uniform thickness across the curved housing wall.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the curved housing wall includes a curved edge, and the hard coating and anti-reflective coating have a tapered thickness at the curved edge.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A buffer layer is interposed between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating, wherein the buffer layer is directly located on the second surface, and the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating are directly located on the buffer layer.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating are single-layer hard coatings, and the single-layer hard coating comprises aluminum silicon oxynitride, silicon oxynitride, or aluminum silicon nitride.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the hard coating and anti-reflective coating comprise a hard coating layer and an anti-reflective layer.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the hard coating layer is interposed between the curved housing wall and the antireflective layer, the hard coating layer being a first hard coating layer, the hard coating and antireflective coating including a second hard coating layer located on the antireflective layer, and the antireflective layer being interposed between the first hard coating layer and the second hard coating layer.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the antireflective layer is inserted between the curved housing wall and the hard coating layer.

9. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the antireflective layer is a first antireflective layer, the hard coating and the antireflective coating further include a second antireflective layer, and the hard coating is inserted between the first antireflective layer and the second antireflective layer.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the hard coating and antireflective coating comprise nanolayers.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the nanolayer comprises alternating layers having a high refractive index and a low refractive index, wherein the alternating layers have a thickness of 25 nm or less, and wherein the alternating layers comprise a SiO2 layer and a SiN layer.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the nanolayer forms the outermost layer of the hard coating and the antireflective coating.

13. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising: The housing includes a surface having a curved portion; The display is located within the housing; as well as A hard coating and an anti-reflective coating are located on the surface of the housing, wherein the hard coating and anti-reflective coating have a tapered thickness across the curved portion of the surface.

14. The electronic device according to claim 13, further comprising: A buffer layer is inserted between the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating and the surface of the housing.

15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the hard coating and the anti-reflective coating are single layers.

16. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the hard coating and antireflective coating comprise a hard coating layer and an antireflective layer, and the hard coating layer is interposed between the surface of the housing and the antireflective layer.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the hard coating and antireflective coating comprise a hard coating layer and an antireflective layer, the antireflective layer being interposed between the surface of the housing and the hard coating layer.

18. An internal device comprising: A curved glass layer, wherein the curved glass layer has a first surface facing the interior, an opposing second surface, and a curved edge; as well as A single-layer hard coating is located on the second surface of the curved glass layer.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the single-layer hard coating comprises silicon oxynitride, aluminum silicon oxynitride, or aluminum silicon nitride.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the single-layer hard coating has a tapered thickness across the curved edge.

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