There is provided a method of manufacturing a decorative surface, comprising the steps of: coating a substrate with an opaque coating using a vapour deposition process; and etching the coating to expose the substrate selectively thereby to manufacture a decorative surface.

A highly-ordered nano-structure array, formed on a substrate, mainly comprises a plurality of highly-ordered nano-structure units. Each of the highly-ordered nano-structure units forms a receiving compartment. One end of the receiving compartment opposite to the substrate has an opening. Each of the highly-ordered nano-structure units comprises at least one thin film layer. A periphery and a bottom of the receiving compartment are defined by an inner surface of a surrounding portion of the at least one thin film layer and a top surface of a bottom portion of the at least one thin film layer, respectively. The at least one thin film layer is made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of: metal, alloy, oxide, nitride, and sulfide.

The invention relates to a method for decorating a timepiece component comprising: a) a step of preparation of the timepiece component optionally comprising a first step of depositing a first material on the timepiece component to form a first sub-layer, b) a second step of depositing a second material on the timepiece component obtained in step a) to form a second sub-layer, c) a colouring step comprising the deposition of a third coloured material on the timepiece component obtained in step b) to form a coloured external decorative layer, According to the invention, at least step b) and step c) are achieved by a physical vapour deposition method.

Methods and apparatus for lowering resistivity of a metal line, including: depositing a first metal layer atop a second metal layer to under conditions sufficient to increase a grain size of a metal of the first metal layer; etching the first metal layer to form a metal line with a first line edge roughness and to expose a portion of the second metal layer; removing impurities from the metal line by a hydrogen treatment process; and annealing the metal line at a pressure between 760 Torr and 76,000 Torr to reduce the first line edge roughness.

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 golf club head having a laser-generated features to create contrast on the club face of the golf club head. The club face includes a central region, a toe region, and a heel region. The central region includes a first plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the central region, a width-intersection coverage of the central region, and a surface-area coverage of the central region. The toe region includes a second plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the toe region, a width-intersection coverage of the toe region, and a surface-area coverage of the toe region. The heel region includes a third plurality of laser-generated features that provide a height-intersection coverage of the heel region, a width-intersection coverage of the heel region, and a surface-area coverage of the heel region.

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to methods for enlarging the opening width of substrate features by reducing the overhang of deposited films. Some embodiments of the disclosure utilize a highly energetic bias pulse to etch the deposited film near the opening of the substrate feature. Some embodiments of the disclosure etch the deposited film without damaging the underlying substrate.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for producing a metal-containing powder useful for additive manufacturing. The metal-containing powder includes a plurality of metal-containing platelets having a defined physical geometry and a defined aspect ratio. The metal platelets may be produced by depositing a metal layer on a substrate that includes one or more recessed or raised surface features. The one or more recessed or raised surface features create a fracture pattern in a metal layer deposited across at least a portion of the one or more surface features. By separating the metal layer from the substrate and fracturing the metal layer along the fracture pattern, a plurality of metal platelets are produced. In some embodiments, a release agent may be disposed between the metal layer and the substrate to facilitate the separation of the metal layer from the substrate.

A method for fabricating a Pt nanorod electrode array sensor device includes forming planar metal electrodes on a flexible film, co-depositing Pt alloy on the planar metal electrodes via physical vapor deposition, and dealloying the Pt alloy to etch Pt nanorods from the deposited Pt alloy. A Pt nanorod electrode sensor device includes a plurality of porous Pt nanorods on a planar metal electrode forming a sensor electrode. The planar metal electrode is on a flexible substrate. An electrode lead on the flexible substrate extends away from the planar metal electrode. Insulation is around porous Pt nanorods an upon the electrode lead.

Forming a porous multilayer material includes forming a multilayer material on a substrate. Forming the multilayer material includes alternately forming a sacrificial layer and a semi-sacrificial layer, where the sacrificial layer includes a first metal and the semi-sacrificial layer includes the first metal and a second metal or metallic alloy. Forming the porous multilayer material further includes removing at least a portion of the first metal from each of the sacrificial and semi-sacrificial layers to yield the porous multilayer material. The porous multilayer material includes a multiplicity of metal-containing layers, each layer having a thickness in a range between about 5 nm and about 100 nm and bonded to an adjacent layer. Each layer includes chromium, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, molybdenum, tungsten, or a combination thereof. A void is defined between each pair of layers, and a density of porous the multilayer material is <1% bulk density.