Conventional electrochromic devices frequently suffer from poor reliability and poor performance. Improvements are made using entirely solid and inorganic materials. Electrochromic devices are fabricated by forming an ion conducting electronically insulating interfacial region that serves as an IC layer. In some methods, the interfacial region is formed after formation of an electrochromic and a counter electrode layer, which are in direct contact with one another. The interfacial region contains an ion conducting electronically insulating material along with components of the electrochromic and/or the counter electrode layer. Materials and microstructure of the electrochromic devices provide improvements in performance and reliability over conventional devices. In addition to the improved electrochromic devices and methods for fabrication, integrated deposition systems for forming such improved devices are also disclosed.

A method for forming an anti-reflective coating (ARC) includes positioning a substrate below a target and flowing a first gas to deposit a first portion of the graded ARC onto the substrate. The method includes gradually flowing a second gas to deposit a second portion of the graded ARC, and gradually flowing a third gas while simultaneously gradually decreasing the flow of the second gas to deposit a third portion of the graded ARC. The method also includes flowing the third gas after stopping the flow of the second gas to form a fourth portion of the graded ARC. In another embodiment a film stack having a substrate having a graded ARC disposed thereon is provided. The graded ARC includes a first portion, a second portion disposed on the first portion, a third portion disposed on the second portion, and a fourth portion disposed on the third portion.

Forming and depositing a high temperature inorganic coating on a polymeric composite substrate surfaces having deposited thereon an interlayer, and articles produce therefrom. Methods of providing functional properties to said composites are also disclosed.

A method of making a photovoltaic device includes forming a p-type compound semiconductor material layer comprising copper, indium, gallium and a chalcogen over a substrate, and forming an n-type metal sulfide layer on the p-type compound semiconductor material layer by sputtering process employing at least one metal and sulfur containing sputtering target having a non-stoichiometric composition in which a metal-to-sulfur atomic ratio is greater than 1.

An interlayer configured for a composite substrate surface, the interlayer having a higher concentration of at least one first chemical element at the interface of the substrate surface and the innermost interlayer surface and a higher concentration of at least one second chemical element at the outermost interlayer surface is disclosed. Methods of forming the interlayer and providing functional properties to said composites are disclosed.

A component for a semiconductor processing chamber includes a ceramic body having at least one surface with a first average surface roughness of approximately 8-16 micro-inches. The component further includes a conformal protective layer on at least one surface of the ceramic body, wherein the conformal protective layer is a plasma resistant rare earth oxide film having a substantially uniform thickness of less than 300 m over the at least one surface and having a second average surface roughness of below 10 micro-inches, wherein the second average surface roughness is less than the first average surface roughness.

Nitrogen-doped tungsten films characterized by low stress (e.g. less than 250 MPa) and excellent adhesion to an underlying dielectric layer are deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The films can be used as hardmask layers in fabrication of 3D memory stacks and can be deposited directly onto a top dielectric layer in a stack of layers. The low stress films are characterized by higher concentration of nitrogen at the interface with the dielectric layer than in the bulk of the film, and have a nitrogen content of between about 5-20% atomic. The films having a thickness of between about 300-900 nm can be deposited in a PVD process chamber by forming a plasma in a process gas comprising a noble gas and nitrogen, where the flow rate of nitrogen is between about 10-17% of the total flow rate of the process gas.

The invention relates to a method for producing a cold forming tool, particularly for cold forming super-high-strength steels, wherein the cold forming tool is the upper and/or lower tool of a forming tool set, wherein the cold forming tool is made of a metal material and has a forming surface that is designed so that a formed metal sheet has the desired final contour of the component, characterized in that a hard material layer is deposited on the forming surface of the forming tool by means of physical gas-phase deposition, wherein the hard material layer consists of a titanium nitride adhesive layer and alternating layers of aluminum titanium nitride and aluminum chromium nitride deposited thereon, wherein a titanium nitride top layer or alternatively a titanium carbon nitride top layer is deposited as the final layer as the outermost outer surface oriented toward a workpiece that is to be formed.

A hard coating to be disposed on or over a substrate surface is provided. The hard coating includes a nitride or carbonitride containing Al, Cr, and at least one element X. The element X has an atomic number higher than Cr and is a Group 4 element; a Group 5 element, or a Group 6 element. The hard coating has maximum X element concentration points repeatedly present in a vertical direction to the substrate surface and one or more minimum X element concentration points present between adjacent two maximum X element concentration points in the vertical direction. The hard coating has a chemical composition continuously varying in the vertical direction.

A hard material layer system with a multilayer structure, comprising alternating layers A and B, with A layers having the composition Me.sub.ApAO.sub.nAN.sub.mA in atomic percent and B layers having the composition Me.sub.BpBO.sub.nBN.sub.mB in atomic percent, where the thermal conductivity of the A layers is greater than the thermal conductivity of the B layers. Me.sub.A and Me.sub.B each comprise at least one metal of the group Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, and Al, p.sub.A indicates the atomic percentage of Me.sub.A and p.sub.B indicates the atomic percentage of Me.sub.B and the following is true: P.sub.A=P.sub.B, n.sub.A indicates the oxygen concentration in the A layers in atomic percent and n.sub.B indicates the oxygen concentration in the B layers in atomic percent and the following is true: n.sub.A<n.sub.B, and m.sub.A indicates the nitrogen concentration in the A layers in atomic percent and m.sub.B indicates the nitrogen concentration in the B layers in atomic percent and the following is true: p.sub.A/(n.sub.A+m.sub.A)=p.sub.B/(n.sub.B+m.sub.B).