Sputter-coating
A secondary manufacturing process in which a thin layer of materials, usually designed to offer low-emissivity or solar control benefits, is applied to glass. Sputter-coatings are commonly referred to as soft-coats, as they generally require some additional care in handling and fabrication and must be used within an insulating glass unit. A hard-coat or pyrolytic glass is coated during the manufacturing process at the molten glass stage. This type of coating offers a surface that is generally as durable as an ordinary glass surface, and therefore requires no special handling and does not need to be used in an insulating glass unit.