Process for treatment by an ion beam of a glass material where: the acceleration voltage of the ions is between 5 kV and 1000 kV; the temperature of the glass material is less than or equal to the glass transition temperature; the dose of nitrogen (N) or oxygen (O) ions per unit of surface area is chosen within a range of between 10.sup.12 ions/cm.sup.2 and 10.sup.18 ions/cm.sup.2 so as to reduce the contact angle of a drop of water below 20; a prior pretreatment is carried out with argon (Ar), krypton (Kr) or xenon (Xe) ions in order to strengthen the durability of the superhydrophilic treatment. Superhydrophilic glass materials of long duration are thus advantageously obtained.

Provided is a sliding member having a hard carbon coating that makes high wear resistance compatible with a low coefficient of friction and that has excellent peeling resistance. A sliding member (100) includes a base member (10) and a hard carbon coating (12) formed on the base member (10). The indentation hardness of the hard carbon coating (12) decreases gradually from the base member side to the surface side. The hard carbon coating (12) has an indentation hardness distribution at 0T/Ttotal0.6 approximated by a first line and an indentation hardness distribution at 0.9T/Ttotal1 approximated by a second line, and the intersection between the first line and the second line (T2/Ttotal, H2) satisfies Expression (1), (H3H1)T2/Ttotal+H1<H20.9H1, and Expression (2), 0.6T2/Ttotal0.9.

The process for producing an orthopedic implant having an integrated silicon nitride surface layer includes steps for positioning the orthopedic implant inside a vacuum chamber, mixing nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber, emitting a relatively high energy beam into the mixture of nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber to cause a gas-phase reaction between the nitrogen gas and the vaporized silicon atoms to form reacted precipitate silicon nitride molecules, and driving the precipitate silicon nitride molecules with the same beam into an outer surface of the orthopedic implant at a relatively high energy such that the precipitate silicon nitride molecules implant therein and form at least a part of the molecular structure of the outer surface of the orthopedic implant, thereby forming the integrated silicon nitride surface layer.

Apparatus for depositing one or more variable interference filters onto one or more substrates comprises a vacuum chamber, at least one magnetron sputtering device and at least one movable mount for supporting the one or more substrates within the vacuum chamber. The at least one magnetron sputtering device is configured to sputter material from a sputtering target towards in the mount, thereby defining a sputtering zone within the vacuum chamber. At least one static sputtering mask is located between the sputtering target and the mount. The at least one static sputtering mask is configured such that, when each substrate is moved through the sputtering zone on the at least one movable mount, a layer of material having a non-uniform thickness is deposited on each said substrate.

An array of nanowires with a period smaller than 150 nm on the surface of curved transparent substrate can be used for applications such as optical polarizers. A curved hard nanomask can be used to manufacture such structures. This nanomask includes a substantially periodic array of substantially parallel elongated elements having a wavelike cross-section. The fabrication method of the nanomask uses ion beams.

Apparatus for depositing one or more variable interference filters onto one or more substrates comprises a vacuum chamber, at least one magnetron sputtering device and at least one movable mount for supporting the one or more substrates within the vacuum chamber. The at least one magnetron sputtering device is configured to sputter material from a sputtering target towards in the mount, thereby defining a sputtering zone within the vacuum chamber. At least one static sputtering mask is located between the sputtering target and the mount. The at least one static sputtering mask is configured such that, when each substrate is moved through the sputtering zone on the at least one movable mount, a layer of material having a non-uniform thickness is deposited on each said substrate.

A device including a near field transducer, the near field transducer including gold (Au) and at least one other secondary atom, the at least one other secondary atom selected from: boron (B), bismuth (Bi), indium (In), sulfur (S), silicon (Si), tin (Sn), hafnium (Hf), niobium (Nb), manganese (Mn), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O), and combinations thereof; erbium (Er), holmium (Ho), lutetium (Lu), praseodymium (Pr), scandium (Sc), uranium (U), zinc (Zn), and combinations thereof; and barium (Ba), chlorine (Cl), cesium (Cs), dysprosium (Dy), europium (Eu), fluorine (F), gadolinium (Gd), germanium (Ge), hydrogen (H), iodine (I), osmium (Os), phosphorus (P), rubidium (Rb), rhenium (Re), selenium (Se), samarium (Sm), terbium (Tb), thallium (Th), and combinations thereof.

A film deposition apparatus reduces hillock formation while yielding uniform film thickness distribution. A film deposition apparatus of a present embodiment includes: a chamber; a rotary table that circulates and carries a workpiece W along a circumferential transfer path L; multiple targets that contain a film deposition material, and that are provided in positions at different radial distances from a center of rotation of the rotary table; a shield member that forms a film deposition chamber surrounding a region where the film deposition material scatters, and that has an opening on the side facing the circulated and carried workpiece; and a plasma generator that includes a sputter gas introduction unit for introducing a sputter gas into the film deposition chamber, and a power supply unit for applying power to the target, and that generates plasma in the sputter gas G1 in the film deposition chamber.

Provided are a coating film, a manufacturing method for the same, and a PVD device that not only sufficiently improve the balance of low-friction properties and wear resistance, but also improve chipping resistance (defect resistance) and peeling resistance. This coating film coats a substrate surface, wherein a hard carbon layer is formed extending in columns-shape perpendicular to the substrate when observed in a cross-sectional bright-field TEM image, the hard carbon layer is formed using a PVD method, and the ID/IG ratio is 1-6 when the hard carbon layer is measured using Raman spectroscopy, said ratio being the ratio of the Raman spectrum D band peak area intensity and G band peak area intensity.

Provided are a spectacle lens having a tin oxide layer on a lens base material, wherein the tin oxide layer has a composition gradient in which an oxygen content rate as anatomic percentage increases from the lens base material side to the other side, and spectacles provided with the spectacle lens.