There is provided a continuous thin film comprising a metal chalcogenide, wherein the metal is selected from the periodic groups 13 or 14 and the chalcogen is: sulphur (S), selenide (Se), or tellurium (Te), and wherein the thin film has a thickness of less than 20 nm. There is also provided a method of forming the continuous thin film. In a particular embodiment, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is used to grow indium selenide (In.sub.2Se.sub.3) thin film from two precursors (In.sub.2Se.sub.3 and Se) and said thin film is used to fabricate a ferroelectric resistive memory device.

The present invention particularly relates to a method for physical vacuum deposition of a coating (R) comprising at least one material (M) on at least a portion of a front face (10) of a support (1), said at least one material (M) originating from an evaporation source or an atomisation source (2), wherein:—use is made of a support (1), at least a portion of the front face (10) of which is smooth, that is to say, does not have any roughness and/or reliefs and/or recesses;—said vacuum deposition is carried out while varying the thickness distribution of the material (M) on said front face (10), that is, while progressively varying the thickness deposited, from a central region (11) in the direction of at least one lateral region (12) contiguous to the central region (11), without modifying the position of the evaporation source or atomisation source (2) of the material particles (M).

A component including a substrate surface coated with a coating including at least one MoN layer having a thickness not less than 40 nm. Between the substrate surface and the at least one MoN layer the component includes: i) a substrate surface hardened layer, which is a hardened, nitrogen-containing substrate surface layer that is the result of a nitriding treatment carried out at the substrate surface and has a thickness not less than 10 nm, preferably not less than 20 nm and not greater than 150 nm, and/or ii) a layer system composed of more than 2 MoN layers and more than 2 CrN layers, wherein the MoN and CrN layers forming the layer system are individual layers deposited alternatingly one on each other forming a multilayer MoN/CrN coating film.

A transducer includes a first piezoelectric layer; and a second piezoelectric layer that is above the first piezoelectric layer; wherein the second piezoelectric layer is a more compressive layer with an average stress that is less than or more compressive than an average stress of the first piezoelectric layer.

Method for making an eyeglass lens coated by means of physical vapor deposition PVD, such method comprising a step of arranging a lens blank, provided with a first centering reference, a step of arranging a support body, provided with a first shaped and through opening oriented with respect to a second centering reference thereof, and a step of arranging a centering template. The present method then comprises an assembly step of the lens blank with the support body and of the support body with the centering template. Subsequently, the present method comprises a step of coating the lens blank by means of physical vapor deposition PVD, and finally comprises a cutting step in which the lens blank is cut along a cutting profile shaped in eyeglass lens form and oriented with respect to the first centering reference.

Techniques and mechanisms for cooling a substrate in a processing chamber by a bi-directional cooling process prior to transferring the substrate outside the processing chamber are provided. First cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber from an upper gas source in a downward direction towards the upward facing surface of the substrate. An apparatus is placed underneath and in proximity to the substrate. Second cooling gas is introduced from the apparatus into the processing chamber in an upward direction towards the downward facing surface of the substrate. One or more gaps are cut out of the body portion of the apparatus, the gaps configured to allow the apparatus to avoid contact with the support structure holding the substrate, as the apparatus is moved in a horizontal direction into position underneath the substrate during placement of the body portion of the apparatus in proximity to the substrate.

There is disclosed apparatus and processes for the uniform controlled growth of materials on a substrate which direct a plurality of pulsed flows of a precursor into a reaction space of a reactor to deposit the thin film on the substrate. Each pulsed flow is a combination of a first pulsed subflow and a second pulsed subflow, wherein a pulse profile of the second pulsed subflow overlaps at least a portion of a latter half of a pulse profile of the first pulsed subflow.

A continuous thin film comprises a metal chalcogenide, wherein the metal is selected from the periodic groups 13 or 14 and the chalcogen is: sulphur (S), selenide (Se), or tellurium (Te), and wherein the thin film has a thickness of less than 20 mm. Methods of forming the continuous thin film involve thermally evaporating precursors to form a thin film on the surface of a substrate. In a particular embodiment, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is used to grow indium selenide (In2Se3) thin film from two precursors (In2Se3 and Se) and the thin film is used to fabricate a ferroelectric resistive memory device.

blade for a turbomachine is provided. The blade at its blade tip (4) includes blade tip armor (5), and an erosion protection layer (11) above the blade tip armor. For the blade, the erosion protection layer in the area of the blade tip has a layer thickness in the range of 5 .Math.m to 100 .Math.m, in particular 10 .Math.m to 50 .Math.m.

The invention relates to an apparatus for the vapor deposition of a coating on optical articles, comprising a distribution mask (32) for controlling the vapor deposition of a coating on optical articles that is positioned in the path of some of the molecules emitted by said emitting source in the direction of the rotatable support for optical articles. The distribution mask (32) is fitted with at least one arm (34) positioned so as to mask at least one partial zone (16) of an individual housing (28) on a portion of the revolution turn, this masked partial zone (16) comprising the center of the individual housing (28).