Electrochromic devices and methods may employ the addition of a defect-mitigating insulating layer which prevents electronically conducting layers and/or electrochromically active layers from contacting layers of the opposite polarity and creating a short circuit in regions where defects form. In some embodiments, an encapsulating layer is provided to encapsulate particles and prevent them from ejecting from the device stack and risking a short circuit when subsequent layers are deposited. The insulating layer may have an electronic resistivity of between about 1 and 10.sup.8 Ohm-cm. In some embodiments, the insulating layer contains one or more of the following metal oxides: aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, silicon aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, tungsten oxide, nickel tungsten oxide, and oxidized indium tin oxide. Carbides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and oxycarbides may also be used.

A laminated hard film is obtained by laminating a layer A and a layer B. The layer A has a composition different from that of the layer B. The layer A is formed of (Ti.sub.aCr.sub.bAl.sub.cSi.sub.d)(C.sub.xN.sub.1-x) and satisifies the relationship of 0≦a≦0.10, 0.10≦b≦0.50, 0.50≦c≦0.90, 0≦d≦0.05, a+b+c+d=1 and 0≦x≦0.5. The layer B is formed of (Cr.sub.eSi.sub.1-e)(C.sub.yN.sub.1-y) and satisfies the relationship of 0.90≦e≦1.0 and 0≦y≦0.5, or is formed of (Al.sub.fSi.sub.1-f)(C.sub.2N.sub.1-z) and satisfies the relationship of 0.90≦f≦1.0 and 0≦x≦0.5. Each of the layer A and the layer B has a thickness of 2 to 100 nm, and the layer A and the layer B are each alternately laminated.

A DC magnetron sputtering apparatus is for depositing a film on a substrate. The apparatus includes a chamber, a substrate support positioned within the chamber, a DC magnetron, and an electrical signal supply device for supplying an electrical bias signal that, in use, causes ions to bombard a substrate positioned on the substrate support. The substrate support includes a central region surrounded by an edge region, the central region being raised with respect to the edge region.

Provided is a coated cutting tool, which includes a hard coating film containing a layer (b) formed of a nitride or a carbonitride, a layer (c) which is a layered coating film formed by alternately layering a nitride or carbonitride layer (c1) that contains 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al, Cr having a second highest content percentage, and at least Si and a nitride or carbonitride layer (c2) that contains 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al and Ti having a second highest content percentage, each layer having a film thickness of 50 nm or less, and a layer (d) that is a nitride or carbonitride that contains, with respect to a total amount of metal elements (including metalloid elements), 55 atom % or more and 75 atom % or less of Al, Cr having a second highest content percentage.

In various embodiments, a sputtering target initially formed by ingot metallurgy or powder metallurgy and rejuvenated by, e.g., cold spray, is utilized in sputtering processes to produce metallic thin films.

A method of forming an interconnect structure for semiconductor devices is described. The method comprises depositing an etch stop layer on a substrate by physical vapor deposition followed by in situ deposition of a metal layer on the etch stop layer. The in situ deposition comprises flowing a plasma processing gas into the chamber and exciting the plasma processing gas into a plasma to deposit the metal layer on the etch stop layer on the substrate. The substrate is continuously under vacuum and is not exposed to ambient air during the deposition processes.

A cathodic arc coating apparatus includes a vessel, a cathode disposed in the vessel, and a stinger assembly. The stinger assembly includes a first magnetic field generator disposed in a first stinger cup in selective contact with the cathode. The first stinger cup has at least a first electrically conductive cup portion spaced from a second electrically conductive cup portion by a thermally insulating layer therebetween.

This surface-coated cutting tool includes a cutting tool body made of tungsten carbide-based cemented carbide and a hard coating layer deposited on a surface of the cutting tool body, in which the hard coating layer has at least one (Ti.sub.1-xAl.sub.x)N layer (0.4≦X≦0.7, X is an atomic ratio) with an average layer thickness of 0.5 to 10 μm, the (Ti, Al)N layer has a cubic crystal structure, and Ia−Ib<5 is satisfied when Ia (%) is an average absorptance of the hard coating layer at a wavelength of 400 to 500 nm and Ib (%) is an average absorptance of the hard coating layer at a wavelength of 600 to 700 nm.

A mask blank with phase shift film where changes in transmittance and phase shift to an exposure light of an ArF excimer laser are suppressed. The film transmits light of an ArF excimer laser at a transmittance of 2% or more and less than 10% and generates a phase difference of 150 degrees or more and 190 degrees or less between the exposure light transmitted through the phase shift film and the exposure light transmitted through the air for the same distance as a thickness of the phase shift film. The film has a stacked lower layer and upper layer, the lower layer containing metal and silicon and substantially free of oxygen. The upper layer containing metal, silicon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The lower layer is thinner than the upper layer, and the ratio of metal to metal and silicon of the upper layer is less than the lower layer.

A method is provided for forming a piezoelectric layer during a corresponding deposition sequence. The method includes sputtering aluminum nitride onto a sputtering substrate inside a reaction chamber having a gas atmosphere, the gas atmosphere initially including nitrogen gas and an inert gas, causing growth of the piezoelectric layer with a polarity in a negative direction. The method further includes adding a predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas to the gas atmosphere over a predetermined period of time, while continuing the sputtering of the aluminum nitride onto the sputtering substrate during a remainder of the deposition sequence, such that the piezoelectric layer is monolithic. The predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas causes the polarity of the aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer to invert from the negative direction to a positive direction, opposite the negative direction.