A magnetron sputtering scanning method for manufacturing a silicon carbide optical reflector surface modification layer and improving surface profile includes (1) for a silicon carbide plane mirror to be modified, first utilizing diamond micro-powders to grind and roughly polish an aspherical silicon carbide reflector with a conventional polishing or CCOS numerical control machining method; (2) after the surface profile precision of the silicon carbide reflector satisfies a modification requirement, utilizing a strip-shaped magnetron sputtering source to deposit a compact silicon modification layer on the surface of the silicon carbide reflector; (3) then, utilizing a circular sputtering source to modify and improve the surface profile of the reflector; and (4) finally, finely polishing the modification layer, and achieving the requirements for machining the surface profile and roughness of the reflector.

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.

A method includes: sandwiching a plastic layer between a glass substrate and a metal plate made of an iron-nickel alloy and joining the metal plate to the glass substrate with the plastic layer in between; forming a mask portion including a plurality of mask holes from the metal plate; joining a surface of the mask portion that is opposite to a surface of the mask portion that is in contact with the plastic layer to a mask frame, which has a higher rigidity than the mask portion and is in a shape of a frame surrounding the mask holes of the mask portion; and peeling off the plastic layer and the glass substrate from the mask portion.

An inorganic paint pigment may include a fluid matrix, and paint flakes carried within the fluid matrix. Each paint flake may include a common aluminum layer having a first major surface and a second major surface opposing the first major surface, a first plasmonic aluminum reflector layer carried by the first major surface, and a second plasmonic aluminum reflector layer carried by the second major surface.

According to certain embodiments, a method of producing a pattern on a substrate comprises securing a flexible polymeric substrate, printing a layer of ink as a negative pattern on the substrate, and placing the flexible polymeric substrate in a vacuum chamber. The method further includes uniformly applying, while the flexible polymeric is under a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, a layer of material over both the layer of ink and the substrate via physical vapor deposition and then removing the flexible polymeric substrate from the vacuum chamber. The method further includes removing the ink and material applied over the ink by immersing the flexible polymeric substrate in a solvent such that it results in a desired pattern of the material on the flexible polymeric substrate.

A method of fabricating an interposer includes: providing a carrier substrate; forming a unit redistribution layer on the carrier substrate, the unit redistribution layer including a conductive via plug and a conductive redistribution line; and removing the carrier substrate from the unit redistribution layer. The formation of the unit redistribution layer includes: forming a first photosensitive pattern layer including a first via hole pattern; forming a second photosensitive pattern layer including a second via hole pattern and a redistribution pattern on the first photosensitive pattern layer; at least partially filling insides of the first via hole pattern, the second via hole pattern, and the redistribution pattern with a conductive material; and performing planarization to make a top surface of the unit redistribution layer flat. According to the method, no undercut occurs under a conductive structure and there are no bubbles between adjacent conductive structures, thus device reliability is enhanced and pattern accuracy is realized.

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.

A method for a defined surface treatment of a first carbon coating applied to a surface of a component The first carbon coating is brought into touching contact with at least one second carbon coating that is formed on a surface of a tool or second component and the two carbon coatings are moved relatively with one another so that the first carbon coating is smoothed by the second carbon coating. The first carbon coating and/or the second carbon coating are formed from a-C (amorphous carbon) or ta-C (tetrahedrally bonded amorphous carbon).

A method for coating substrates is provided. The method includes diamond turning a substrate to a surface roughness of between about 60 and about 100 RMS, wherein the substrate is one of a metal and a metal alloy. The method further includes polishing the diamond turned surface of the substrate to a surface roughness of between about 10 and about 25 to form a polished substrate, heating the polished substrate, and ion bombarding the substrate with an inert gas. The method includes depositing a coating including at least one metallic layer on the ion bombarded surface of the substrate using low pressure magnetron sputtering, and polishing the coating to form a finished surface having a surface roughness of less than about 25 RMS using a glycol based colloidal solution.

A method for selectively coating the tops of pins of a pin chuck with a high thermal stability material, such as diamond-like carbon (DLC). Non-pin areas (valleys) of the pin chuck support surface are temporarily covered with glass frit or glass beads during the DLC coating operation. After coating, the glass frit/beads masking material may be removed, leaving the DLC material selectively coating the pin tops. The selective DLC coating avoids the cracking or warping problems due to CTE mismatch when DLC is coated over the entire pin chuck support surface, as the pin chuck material typically is very different from DLC.