This invention provides a gas barrier film, which can suppress blocking and winding deviation, and an optical film using the gas barrier film. The gas barrier film includes a flexible substrate and an inorganic thin film layer formed on at least one surface of the flexible substrate. A static friction coefficient between one surface of the gas barrier film and the other surface is not less than 0.85 and not more than 2.0, and when a 50 mm-square portion cut from the gas barrier film is placed on a horizontal surface such that a central portion of the 50 mm-square portion is in contact with the horizontal surface, an average value of distances from the horizontal surface to four corners of the 50 mm-square portion is not more than 2 mm.

A method of fabricating a flexible surface plasmon resonance, SPR, film, a method of performing Surface enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, SERS, a flexible surface plasmon resonance, SPR, film, and a SERS system. The method of fabricating a flexible SPR film comprises the steps of depositing a metal film on a ductile poly (-caprolactone), PCL-based film having a first length to form a composite PCL-based film; and stretching the composite PCL-based film such that the ductile PCL-based film undergoes an irreversible transformation to form the SPR film exhibiting a second length that is larger than the first length.

Electrochromic devices are fabricated using a particle removal operation that reduces the occurrence of 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, the particle removal operation is not a lithiation operation. In some embodiments, the particle removal operation is performed at an intermediate stage during the deposition of either an electrochromic layer or a counter electrode layer.

Provided is a coated cutting tool that has a nitride hard coating that contains Ti at 70 at % to 95 at % and Si at 5 at % to 30 at % with respect to the total amount of metallic elements, and Ar at 0.05 at % to 0.20 at % with respect to the total amount of metallic and non-metallic elements, has a NaCl-type crystalline structure, exhibits maximum diffraction peak intensity in the (200) plane, and has an average grain size of 5 nm to 30 nm. When 100 at % is defined as the total of content rates of the metallic elements, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon in a composition at intervals of 20 nm from a depth of 20 nm to 200 nm from a surface of the hard coating, the content rate of nitrogen is 50.0 at % or more.

A casing component according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a decorating film and a casing part. The decorating film is formed on a base film by vapor deposition and includes a metal layer, fine cracks being formed in the metal layer by stretching the base film. The casing part has a decorated region, the decorating film being adhered to the decorated region.

The present invention provides: a gas barrier laminate comprising a base, a primer layer, and a gas barrier layer, the primer layer and the gas barrier layer being sequentially stacked on at least one side of the base, the primer layer having a modulus of elasticity at 90 C. of 1.6 GPa or more, and a coefficient of static friction between a surface of one side of the gas barrier laminate and a surface of the other side of the gas barrier laminate being 0.35 to 0.8; a method for producing the gas barrier laminate; an electronic device member comprising the gas barrier laminate; and an electronic device.

A tool includes a base body of hard metal, cermet, ceramics, steel or high speed steel and a multi-layer wear protection coating deposited thereon by a PVD process. The wear protection coating has a first coat deposited on the base body having a composition of TiaAl(1-a)N, wherein 0.4a0.6, and a coating thickness of 0.5 m to 4 m, and a second coat deposited on the first coat. The second coat includes a sequence of 10 to 80 first and second layers alternatingly arranged one on top of each other. Each of the first and second layers has a thickness of 5 to 100 nm. Each first layer includes nitrides of the elements Ti, Al, Cr and Si, and each second layer has a composition of TixAl(1-x)N, wherein 0.4x0.6. The first and second coats have up to 10 at-% of further metals, B, C and/or O as impurities in each layer.

Methods for preparing a void-free protective coating are disclosed herein. The void-free protective coating is used on a dielectric window having a central hole, which is used in a plasma treatment tool. A first protective coating layer is applied to the window, leaving an uncoated annular retreat area around the central hole. The first protective coating layer is polished to produce a flat surface and fill in any voids on the window. A second protective coating layer is then applied upon the flat surface of the first protective coating layer to obtain the void-free coating. This increases process uptime and service lifetime of the dielectric window and the plasma treatment tool.

A support for optical elements is described. The support includes a base substrate with high specific stiffness and a finishing layer. The base substrate is Al, an alloy of Al, Mg, or an alloy of Mg. The finishing layer is preferably an alloy of Al and Si. The finishing layer is or is capable of being processed to provide a surface with low finish. Low finish is achieved by diamond turning or polishing the finishing material. The finishing layer has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the base substrate. The optical element optionally includes a reflective stack on the finishing layer.

Films including a water-soluble polymeric material and a vapor-deposited inorganic coating are disclosed. The water-soluble polymeric material may comprise polyvinyl alcohol. The vapor-deposited inorganic coating may include a metal oxide. The vapor-deposited inorganic coating may include a plurality of microfractures. The films may form part of a package and/or a water-soluble unit dose article.