A system and a method for a nanostructured film including a first layer for reflecting at least a portion of an electromagnetic radiation and a second layer for receiving the remainder of the electromagnetic radiation through the first layer and subsequently reflecting at least a portion of the received electromagnetic radiation through the first layer, wherein two electromagnetic radiations with the same wavelength reflected by the first and second layers respectively are combined to form a strengthened electromagnetic radiation, the wavelength of the strengthened electromagnetic radiation being variable based on the physical property of the first layer.

The invention relates to the use of a carbonaceous coating for protection of a passive electrical component from attack by ammonia, wherein the carbonaceous coating is a sol-gel coating or a plasma-polymeric coating. This coating comprises a particular carbon content.

The present invention for coating a valve head (6) of an inlet and/or outlet valve (4) comprises a preparation of a surface, which is to be coated, of the valve (4) for a coating, and a coating of the prepared surface with a ceramic high-temperature coating (22).

The invention relates to a swashplate (5) for a swashplate compressor (1) comprising a main swashplate body (8), which is made from a sintering material, and to a method for producing the swashplate (5).

To provide a sliding member, such as a piston ring for an internal combustion engine, having low friction and excellent toughness. The above-described problem is solved by a sliding member (10) such as a piston ring coated with a CrBTiV(Mn, Mo)-N-based alloy film (2) on a sliding surface (11) thereof, and configured so that the alloy film (2) contains one or both of Mn and Mo and has a total content of the Mn and the Mo within a range of 2 mass % or less. Preferably, a B content is within a range of 0.1 mass % to 1.5 mass %, inclusive, a V content is within a range of 0.05 mass % to 1 mass %, inclusive, and a Ti content is within a range of 0.05 mass % to 1.5 mass %, inclusive.

A sliding member includes a base material, and an amorphous hard carbon film formed on a surface of the base material, in which a sp.sup.2 ratio of the amorphous hard carbon film increases from an inner surface side corresponding to the base material side toward an outer surface side thereof to become a maximum value and further decreases toward the outer surface side.

A sliding member includes a base material and an amorphous hard carbon film formed on a surface of the base material, and the amorphous hard carbon film has a graded structure in which a sp.sup.2 ratio increases from an inner surface side corresponding to the base material side toward an outer surface side. A piston ring includes the sliding member.

A coated tube can include a metallic tube and a selective coating, coated on at least a portion of the surface of the tube. The selective coating can may include an absorbing layer and an encapsulation layer having an amorphous compound at a thickness of at most 200 nm, deposited on top of the absorbing layer. The encapsulation layer is an antireflective layer and the amorphous compound can be selected such that the antireflective layer has a refractive index greater than the refractive index of air and lower than a refractive index of the absorbing layer. The encapsulation layer can be free of defects and penetrate and seal any macro and micro-defects in the absorbing layer. The encapsulation layer can be deposited on top of the absorbing layer using atomic layer deposition (ALD) method.

A diamond coating includes a first diamond layer made of minute diamond particles and a second diamond layer made of coarse diamond particles: in a flank-face side diamond coating, a mean coat thickness d2 is not less than 3 m and not more than 25 m, a first diamond layer is formed on a surface side and a second diamond layer is formed on a tool base side: a rake-face side diamond coating is in a smaller range of 50 m or 1/10 of a tool diameter from a tip of a base cutting-edge part; in the rake-face side diamond coating, a mean coat thickness d1 is a smaller one in a range not less than 0 m and not more than 5.0 m or a range less than d2: and a boundary part between the first diamond layer and the second diamond layer.

A valve component comprising a substrate with a sliding surface, the sliding surface being designed to be subjected to sliding against another surface during operation of the valve, wherein at least a portion of the sliding surface is coated with a coating comprising an under-layer comprising tungsten and an upper-layer deposited atop the under-layer, said upper-layer comprising diamond-like-carbon, wherein the under-layer comprises carbon and has a layer thickness of at least 11 micrometers, and the upper-layer has a lower coefficient of friction than the under-layer and has a layer thickness of at least 1.5 micrometers.