United States Patent m
Vaughn et al.
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US005517338A [li] Patent Number: 5,517,338 [45] Date of Patent: May 14,1996
[54] COMPOSITE MIRRORS
[75] Inventors: George D. Vaughn, Chesterfield;
Charles R. Graham, St. Peters, both of
Mo.
[73] Assignee: Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Mo.
[21] Appl. No.: 963,650
[22] Filed: Oct. 20,1992
[51] Int. CI.6 G02B 5/32
[52] U.S. CI 357/15; 359/1; 359/566;
359/572
[58] Field of Search 359/1, 15, 566,
359/572; 428/208, 209; 427/304, 404; 369/100,
103
[56] References Cited
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FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
0485910 5/1992 European Pat. Off. H05K 3/34
56-70883 6/1981 Japan B05D 7/14
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2253635 9/1992 United Kingdom C23C 18/08
2253636 9/1992 United Kingdom C23C 18/08
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
St. Clair et al. "Electrically Conductive Polyimide Films Containing Palladium Coordination Complexes", JACS, 102:2, Jan. 16, 1980.
Primary Examiner—Georgia Y. Epps
Assistant Examiner—Michael A. Papalas
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Thomas E. Kelley
[57] ABSTRACT
Composite mirrors on a substrate comprising a mixture of up to 20 percent of polymer and at least 80 percent of metal clusters, e.g. of gold, palladium or silver, which have a nominal diameter less than 100 nanometers and which are agglomerated in a layer conforming to the surface of the substrate. Composite mirrors are produced by coating a substrate with a solution comprising at least 80 percent solvent, e.g. water and alcohol, and up to 20 percent of a mixture of up to 20 percent polymer, e.g. methylcellulose, and at least 80 percent metal, present as a salt of volatilesforming anion, e.g. silver lactate or palladium acetate; dry films of polymer and salt are exposed to heat or ultraviolet light to convert the salt to metal clusters. Polymeric mirrors are especially useful for making reflection holograms on polymeric surfaces embossed with a latent holographic image in a relief pattern.
3 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
