The present invention aims to provide a vehicular exterior member that is excellent in strength and cost, and sufficiently ensures a viewing field of sharpness of a thermal image obtained by a far-infrared camera. A vehicular exterior member that includes a light blocking region and is configured to be attached to a vehicle equipped with a far-infrared camera. The vehicular exterior member further includes, in the light blocking region, a far-infrared ray transmitting region having an opening and a far-infrared ray transmitting member disposed in the opening. An average transmittance of far-infrared rays having a wavelength ranging from 8 to 13 ?m of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or larger than 25%. A length of the longest straight line in straight lines connecting any desired two points on a surface on a vehicle exterior side of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or smaller than 80 mm. A diameter of the largest circle in circles formed in a projected shape obtained by projecting the far-infrared ray transmitting member in an optical axis direction of the far-infrared camera is equal to or larger than 12 mm. An average thickness of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or larger than 1.5 mm.

A method for forming a pressure sensor is provided wherein an optical fibre is provided, the optical fibre comprising a core, a cladding surrounding the core, and a birefringence structure for inducing birefringence in the core. The birefringence structure comprises first and second holes enclosed within the cladding and extending parallel to the core. A portion of the optical fibre comprising the core and the birefringence structure is encased within a chamber, wherein the chamber is defined by a housing comprising a pressure transfer element for equalising pressure between the inside and the outside of the housing. An optical sensor is provided along the core of the optical fibre. Providing the optical sensor comprises optically inducing stress in the core so that the optical sensor exhibits intrinsic birefringence. The chamber is filled with a substantially non-compressible fluid. Consequently, the birefringence structure is shaped so as to convert an external pressure provided by the non-compressible fluid within the chamber to an anisotropic stress in the optical sensor.

A material includes a transparent substrate coated with a stack of thin layers including at least one silver-based functional layer, wherein the stack includes a protective coating deposited on top of at least one portion of the functional layer, the protective coating including: a lower protective layer having a thickness of between 1 and 10 nm, a central protective layer based on carbon graphite located on top of the lower protective layer, and an upper protective layer having a thickness of between 1 and 10 nm located on top of the central protective layer.

Articles and methods regarding composite conductor materials comprising a first conductive material layer and a first carbonaceous material layer. In certain embodiments, the first carbonaceous material layer comprises an sp2 hybridized carbon compound. In certain embodiments, the electrical conductivity of the composite conductive material can be controlled and exhibits a conductivity at least 1.5% greater than the conductivity of the first conductive material layer alone.

The present invention relates to a transfer-free method for forming a graphene layer, in which a high-quality graphene layer having excellent crystallinity can be easily formed over a large area at low temperature by a transfer-free process so that it can be applied directly to a base substrate, which is used in a transparent electrode, a semiconductor device or the like, without requiring a separate transfer process, and to an electrical device comprising a graphene layer formed by the method. More specifically, the transfer-free method for forming a graphene layer comprises the steps of: depositing a Ti layer having a thickness of 3-20 m on a base substrate by sputtering; and growing graphene on the deposited Ti layer by chemical vapor deposition.

A method for creating a hydrophilic antimicrobial diamond coating on a silicon or glass surface includes providing a silicon or glass surface, creating a second surface by seeding a plurality of nanodiamond particles on the silicon or glass surface by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), and forming a silver nitrate and hydroxylamine solution. A third surface may be created by seeding a plurality of silver nanoparticles onto the second surface by spraying the silver nitrate and hydroxylamine solution onto the second surface and maintaining the silver nitrate and hydroxylamine solution on the second surface for a predetermined time. The third surface may then be exposed to an oxygen plasma treatment.

A process to produce a scratch resistant coated article includes providing a flat glass substrate having a surface to be coated, and depositing a multilayered coating on the surface in corresponding sequence coming from the surface, a functional layer stack including at least one metallic silver inclusive layer sandwiched between two dielectric layers, a transition metal (TM) inclusive layer including carbon in a molar amount, which at least in a region of an outer surface of the TM inclusive layer equals at least the molar metal amount of TM metals, and a hydrogen containing layer in direct contact to the outer surface of the TM inclusive layer as an outermost layer of the coating.

A method of forming a graphene device includes: providing a glass substrate with a blocking layer disposed thereon to form a stack; providing a first electrode and a second electrode; increasing the temperature of the stack to at least 100 C.; applying an external electric field (V.sub.P) to the first electrode such that at least one metal ion of the glass substrate migrates toward the first electrode to create a depletion region in the glass substrate adjacent the second electrode; decreasing the temperature of the stack to room temperature while applying the external electric field to the first electrode; and after reaching room temperature, setting the external electric field to zero to create a frozen voltage region adjacent the second electrode.

The present invention aims to provide a vehicular exterior member that is excellent in strength and cost, and sufficiently ensures a viewing field of sharpness of a thermal image obtained by a far-infrared camera. A vehicular exterior member that includes a light blocking region and is configured to be attached to a vehicle equipped with a far-infrared camera. The vehicular exterior member further includes, in the light blocking region, a far-infrared ray transmitting region having an opening and a far-infrared ray transmitting member disposed in the opening. An average transmittance of far-infrared rays having a wavelength ranging from 8 to 13 m of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or larger than 25%. A length of the longest straight line in straight lines connecting any desired two points on a surface on a vehicle exterior side of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or smaller than 80 mm. A diameter of the largest circle in circles formed in a projected shape obtained by projecting the far-infrared ray transmitting member in an optical axis direction of the far-infrared camera is equal to or larger than 12 mm. An average thickness of the far-infrared ray transmitting member is equal to or larger than 1.5 mm.

A process for obtaining a material including a substrate coated on one of its sides with a coating including a functional layer, includes depositing the functional layer on the substrate, then depositing an absorbent layer on top of the functional layer, then performing a heat treatment by radiation, the radiation having at least one treatment wavelength between 200 and 2500 nm, the absorbent layer being in contact with air during the heat treatment, wherein the ab sorb ent layer ab sorbs at least 80% of the radiation used during the heat treatment and transmits less than 10% thereof.