Window with anti-bacterial and/or anti-fungal feature and method of making same

Abstract

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to a window having anti-fungal/anti-bacterial properties and/or self-cleaning properties, and a method of making the same. In certain example embodiments, a silver based layer is be provided and the layer(s) located thereover (e.g., the zirconium oxide inclusive layer) are designed to permit silver particles to migrate/diffuse to the surface over time to kill bacteria/germs at the surface of the coated article thereby creating an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal effect. In certain example embodiments, silver may also or instead be mixed in with other material as the top layer of the anti-bacterial coating.

1 - 31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . A method of making an anti-bacterial coated article, the method comprising:
 forming a porous layer comprising metal oxide on a glass substrate over at least a layer comprising silver, so that the porous layer comprising metal oxide is sufficiently porous so that silver from the layer comprising silver can migrate and/or diffuse outwardly to the surface of the coated article over time.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the layer comprising metal oxide comprises zirconium oxide. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , comprising forming a layer comprising zirconium nitride on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising silver, and thereafter heat treating the glass substrate with the layer comprising zirconium nitride thereon in a manner so that following the heat treating the layer comprising zirconium nitride has transformed into a porous layer comprising zirconium oxide which is said porous layer comprising metal oxide. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising forming a porous photocatalytic layer on the glass substrate over at least the porous layer.