Described are plasma immersion ion implantation methods that use multiple precursor gases, particularly for the purpose of controlling an amount of a specific atomic dopant species that becomes implanted into a workpiece relative to other atomic species that also become implanted into the workpiece during the implantation process.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide methods and apparatus for fabricating magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structures on a substrate for MRAM applications. In one embodiment, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device structure includes a junction structure disposed on a substrate, the junction structure comprising a first ferromagnetic layer and a second ferromagnetic layer sandwiching a tunneling barrier layer, a dielectric capping layer disposed on the junction structure, a metal capping layer disposed on the junction structure, and a top buffer layer disposed on the metal capping layer.

The present disclosure provides an improvement to razor blade coating by a physical vapor deposition method, by forming a hard coating layer as a thin coating layer in which chromium boride, which is a nanocrystalline structure having high hardness, is dispersed in an amorphous mixture of chromium and boron, thereby improving the strength and hardness of the thin coating layer and securing the bonding force by chromium in the amorphous mixture between the hard coating layer and a blade substrate on which an edge of the razor blade is formed.

A layer of lanthanum boride of stoichiometry LaB.sub.x where x is between 9 and 12 is deposited on substrate, for example a stainless steel watch dial, and subsequently treated with a laser, such that the portion(s) of the layer treated with the laser change colour according to the laser power. This produces multicoloured surfaces having high resistance to corrosion and abrasion. The layer of LaB.sub.x is deposited by PVD and by cathode sputtering, using a LaB.sub.6 target of purple-violet colour, such that the colour of the deposited layer differs from the colour of the target. The laser treatment at specific powers changes the stoichiometry of the layer in the treatment portions, such that the colour of these portions changes according to the stoichiometry obtained. At higher powers, the laser will remove the layer of LaB.sub.x. Thus the colour of the treated portions is determined by the material of the substrate.

The invention relates to a method for coating a substrate 40, a coating system for carrying out the method, and a coated body. In a first method step 62, the substrate 40 is to pretreated in a ion etching process. In a second method step 64, a first coating layer 56a with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm is deposited on the substrate 40 by means of a PVD process. In order to achieve a particularly high-quality and durable coating 50, the surface of the first coating layer 56a is treated by means of an ion etching process in a third method step 66, and an additional coating layer 56b with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm is deposited on the first coating layer 56a by means of a PVD process in a fourth method step 68. The coated body comprises at least two coating layers 56a, 56b, 56c, 56d with a thickness of 0.1 μm to 6 μm on a substrate 40, wherein an interface region formed by ion etching is arranged between the coating layers 56a, 56b, 56c, 56d.

A method for coating stainless steel press plates includes preparing the stainless steel press plate for coating and coating the stainless steel press plate with a diboride doped with 1%-5% by weight aluminum to produce a diboride-aluminum coating. The step of coating includes applying the diboride-aluminum coating to a stainless steel press plate using a magnetron sputter coating system.

A layer of lanthanum boride of stoichiometry LaB.sub.x where x is between 9 and 12 is deposited on substrate, for example a stainless steel watch dial, and subsequently treated with a laser, such that the portion(s) of the layer treated with the laser change colour according to the laser power. This produces multicoloured surfaces having high resistance to corrosion and abrasion. The layer of LaB.sub.x is deposited by PVD and by cathode sputtering, using a LaB.sub.6 target of purple-violet colour, such that the colour of the deposited layer differs from the colour of the target. The laser treatment at specific powers changes the stoichiometry of the layer in the treatment portions, such that the colour of these portions changes according to the stoichiometry obtained. At higher powers, the laser will remove the layer of LaB.sub.x. Thus the colour of the treated portions is determined by the material of the substrate.

A cutting tool includes a substrate and a coating film that is disposed on the substrate, wherein the coating film includes a first layer composed of metal tungsten and hexagonal ditungsten carbide, and the first layer has an elastic deformation rate of 43.0 or more and 58.0 or less.

Coated tool comprising a coated surface, the coated surface comprising a substrate having a surface on which a coating is deposited, wherein the substrate is made of a material comprising cobalt, and wherein the coating comprises at least one boron-comprising layer, wherein the at least one boron-comprising layer comprises Al and the boron comprised in this layer is present as boride, thereby the boron-comprising layer is able to form further layers for providing a diffusion barrier layer effect, in particular for stopping diffusion of cobalt from the substrate surface to the coating, when the coated tool or the coated surface is exposed to temperatures in a range between approximately 600 and 1200° C.

This invention relates to a novel application of a compound of chromium and boron, or the application of chromium boride-based coatings (e.g., CrB.sub.n where an atomic percentage of boron ranges from greater than zero atomic percent to less than 100 atomic percent of said compound) to surfaces of razor blades, namely cutting edges. On razor blade edges, these novel coatings are hard, durable, and provide a novel, low cutter force and high-quality coating structure, elevating blade performance, while also simplifying the manufacturing process.