To appropriately transmit far-infrared rays while ensuring design. A far-infrared ray transmission member (20) includes a base material (30) configured to transmit far-infrared rays, and a functional film (31) formed on the base material (30). Dispersion of reflectances with respect to pieces of light at a wavelength of 360 nm to 830 nm in increments of 1 nm is equal to or smaller than 30, a reflectance with respect to visible light defined by JIS R3106 is equal to or lower than 25%, and an average transmittance with respect to light at a wavelength of 8 μm to 12 μm is equal to or higher than 50%.

An electrochromic device according to an embodiment includes a first transparent conductive layer, an ion storage layer, an electrolyte layer, an electrochromic layer, and a second transparent conductive layer. The electrolyte layer includes a tantalum atom. The electrochromic layer includes a tungsten atom. The ion storage layer includes an iridium atom and a tantalum atom. The ion storage layer is hydrogenated in bleached state and the electrochromic device has a transmittance of 64.1% or more in bleached state. A difference between the transmittance of the electrochromic device in bleached state and the transmittance of the electrochromic device in colored state is 8.4% or more.

An electrochemical electrode for use in a biosensor. The electrode comprises a substrate, a palladium metal layer manufactured on the substrate, and a palladium oxide-containing layer manufactured on the palladium metal layer. The palladium metal layer has a thickness of no more than 90 nm, and the palladium oxide-containing layer has a thickness of no more than 40 nm.

An electrochemical electrode for use in a biosensor. The electrode comprises a substrate, a palladium metal layer manufactured on the substrate, and a palladium oxide-containing layer manufactured on the palladium metal layer. The palladium metal layer has a thickness of no more than 90 nm, and the palladium oxide-containing layer has a thickness of no more than 40 nm.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a multilayer film comprising aluminum, chromium, oxygen and nitrogen, in a vacuum coating chamber, the multilayer film comprising layers of type A and layers of type B deposited alternate one of each other, wherein during deposition of the multilayer film at least one target comprising aluminum and chromium is operated as cathode by means of a PVD technique and used in this manner as material source for supplying aluminum and chromium, and an oxygen gas flow and a nitrogen gas flow are introduced as reactive gases in the vacuum chamber for reacting with aluminum and chromium, thereby supplying oxygen and nitrogen for forming the multilayer film, characterized in that: —The A layers are deposited as oxynitride layers of Al—Cr—O—N by using nitrogen and oxygen as reactive gas at the same time, —The B layers are deposited as nitride layers of Al—Cr—N by reducing the oxygen gas flow and by increasing the nitrogen gas flow in order to use only nitrogen as reactive gas for the formation of the Al—Cr—N layer, and wherein the relation between oxygen content and nitrogen content in the multilayer film correspond to a ratio in atomic percentage having a value between and including 1.8 and 4.

Provided is a sputtering target, the sputtering target containing 0.05 at % or more of Bi and having a total content of metal oxides of from 10 vol % to 60 vol %, the balance containing at least Co and Pt.

Provided is a sputtering target, the sputtering target containing 0.05 at % or more of Bi and having a total content of metal oxides of from 10 vol % to 60 vol %, the balance containing at least Co and Pt.

A method for forming a film of an oxide of In, Ga, and Zn, having a spinel crystalline phase comprises providing a substrate in a chamber; providing a sputtering target in said chamber, the target comprising an oxide of In, Ga, and Zn, wherein: In, Ga, and Zn represent together at least 95 at % of the elements other than oxygen, In represents from 0.6 to 44 at % of In, Ga, and Zn, Ga represents from 22 to 66 at % of In, Ga, and Zn, and Zn represents from 20 to 46 at % of In, Ga, and Zn; and forming a film on the substrate, the substrate being at a temperature of from 125° C. to 250° C., by sputtering the target with a sputtering gas comprising O.sub.2, the sputtering being performed at a sputtering power of at least 200 W.

A sputtering target according to the present invention contains Co and Pt as metal components, wherein a molar ratio of a content of Pt to a content of Co is from 5/100 to 45/100, and wherein the sputtering target contains Nb.sub.2O.sub.5 as a metal oxide component.

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a mid-infrared lens, which includes the following steps: placing a lens in the path of a far-infrared radiation source, enabling the lens to receive the far infrared rays; immersing the lens in a hardening liquid, causing the hardening liquid to coat the lens, wherein the hardening liquid is an intermixture of silicone and isopropanol or an intermixture of silicone and methanol, and a far-infrared material or a far-infrared composite material is additionally added to the hardening liquid; placing the lens coated with the hardening liquid in a drying space to dry, causing the hardening liquid to dry and harden and form a hardened layer on the surface of the lens. The temperature of the drying space lies between 80 and 120° C., and the drying time lies between 1 and 10 hours.