A method for providing a pre-deposition treatment (e.g., of a work-function layer) to accomplish work function tuning. In various embodiments, a gate dielectric layer is formed over a substrate, and a work-function metal layer is deposited over the gate dielectric layer. In some embodiments, a first in-situ process including a pre-treatment process of the work-function metal layer is performed. By way of example, the pre-treatment process removes an oxidized layer of the work-function metal layer to form a treated work-function metal layer. In some embodiments, after performing the first in-situ process, a second in-situ process including a deposition process of another metal layer over the treated work-function metal layer is performed.

A trim for an object and its method of manufacture involve providing a transparent or translucent substrate defining a top surface, applying an opaque layer above the top surface of the substrate, the opaque layer defining one or more apertures through which light can pass, and applying one or more translucent metallic-looking layers above a top surface of the opaque layer. In some implementations, the trim is a selectively illuminable trim whereby a light source is arranged beneath a bottom surface of the substrate, the light source being configured to output light through the substrate, the one or more apertures defined by the opaque layer, and the one or more metallic-looking layers.

A functional film provided on a base material and having a fine uneven structure on its surface of the functional includes a coating. The coating is a coating film or a coating layer of the fine uneven structure. The coating is on a surface of the base material or a constituent layer and covers at least a bumpy portion or an entire surface of the base material. The fine uneven structure includes bumps and dents whose mutual positional relationship and shape have randomness with no regularity in terms of identity or periodicity and does not generate diffracted light.

A method for depositing a large-area graphene layer and an apparatus for continuous graphene deposition using the same are disclosed. The method can include forming a titanium (Ti) layer on a substrate by sputtering, reducing the titanium layer by spraying a reductant gas containing a hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) and a purge gas onto the titanium layer while moving in a first direction in relation to the substrate and exhausting the reductant gas and the purge gas. The method can also include forming graphene by spraying a reactant gas containing a graphene source and the purge gas onto the titanium layer while moving in a second direction opposite the first direction in relation to the substrate and exhausting the reactant gas and the purge gas.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to forming multi-depth films for the fabrication of optical devices. One embodiment includes disposing a base layer of a device material on a surface of a substrate. One or more mandrels of the device material are disposed on the base layer. The disposing the one or more mandrels includes positioning a mask over of the base layer. The device material is deposited with the mask positioned over the base layer to form an optical device having the base layer with a base layer depth and the one or more mandrels having a first mandrel depth and a second mandrel depth.

Various embodiments herein relate to electrochromic devices, methods of fabricating electrochromic devices, and apparatus for fabricating electrochromic devices. In a number of cases, the electrochromic device may be fabricated to include a particular counter electrode material. The counter electrode material may include a base anodically coloring material. The counter electrode material may further include one or more halogens. The counter electrode material may also include one or more additives.

A translucent or transparent film or sheet device shows angular-independent IR reflectance, which comprises a substrate (1) covered with a layer of a dielectric high refractive index material (4) containing a thin metallic layer (3) embedded in said material, and a further layer (5) of translucent or transparent material covering said layer (4) of dielectric high refractive index material, characterized in that the embedded metal layer (3) is periodically interrupted with a periodicity of 50 to 800 nm such that metal covers at least 70% of the substrate area. The device may advantageously be integrated into a window, a glass facade element or especially onto a photovoltaic (PV) device, where it reduces the fraction of IR radiation passing into the building, or reduces heat take-up and thus lowers the operating temperature and improves the efficiency of the PV cell.

A method for making a conductive film includes the steps of: depositing a conductive metal film on a substrate to form a metal-coated substrate; depositing a fiber pattern on the conductive metal film of the metal-coated substrate to form a masked substrate, the fiber pattern defining protected metal and exposed metal of the conductive metal film; removing the exposed metal from the conductive metal film of the masked substrate to form a protected conductive film; and removing the fiber pattern from the protected conductive film to expose the protected metal and provide a metal pattern on the substrate. An annealing step con be employed after depositing the fiber pattern to increase the surface area of contact between the fiber pattern and the conductive metal film.

A precious metallic laminate may include a first transparent substrate, a transparent transition layer deposited on the first transparent substrate, and a metallic layer deposited on the transparent transition layer. The metallic layer may include a precious metal. The laminate may include a second transparent substrate covering the metallic layer.

The invention relates to a method for producing a sliding surface on a machine element, in particular a cam follower, wherein the machine element is first provided with a coating on at least part of the surface of the machine element, into which coating a surface structure is then introduced by laser structuring. In order to be able to introduce a surface structure that does not penetrate the coating even in the case of low layer thicknesses (s1) of the coating, the introduction of the surface structure is performed by laser interference structuring.