A method for ion-assisted deposition of optical coatings. The method may include performing one or more pre-deposition processes. The method may include performing evaporation using an evaporation assembly of an ion-assisted deposition system during ion-assisted deposition using a low energy ion beam source of the ion-assisted deposition system. The method may further include performing sputtering using a sputtering assembly of an ion-assisted deposition system. The evaporation assembly may include an evaporating target and an evaporator configured to directly evaporate target material from the evaporating target onto a surface of the one or more samples. The sputtering assembly may include a sputtering target and a sputtering high energy ion source configured to sputter target material from the sputtering target onto a surface of the one or more samples. The method may include performing one or more post-deposition treatment processes.

A substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate using particles, includes a conveyance mechanism configured to convey the substrate along a conveyance surface, a particle source configured to emit particles, a rotation mechanism configured to make the particle source pivot about a rotation axis, and a movement mechanism configured to move the particle source such that a distance between the particle source and the conveyance surface is changed.

A method for manufacturing a two-dimensional material is described. In this method, an energy beam sputtering process is performed by using a target to form a transition metal film on a substrate. When the energy beam sputtering process is performed, a potential difference between the target and the substrate is 0, such that no electric field is generated between the target and the substrate. A synthesis reaction is performed on the transition metal film within a tube furnace to synthesize a two-dimensional material layer from the transition metal film and chalcogen.

A method may include providing a set of features in a mask layer, wherein a given feature comprises a first dimension along a first direction, second dimension along a second direction, orthogonal to the first direction, and directing an angled ion beam to a first side region of the set of features in a first exposure, wherein the first side region is etched a first amount along the first direction. The method may include directing an angled deposition beam to a second side region of the set of features in a second exposure, wherein a protective layer is formed on the second side region, the second side region being oriented perpendicularly with respect to the first side region. The method may include directing the angled ion beam to the first side region in a third exposure, wherein the first side region is etched a second amount along the first direction.

The invention disclosed herein includes electrode compositions formed from processes that sputter metal in a manner that produces pillar architectures. Embodiments of the invention can be used in analyte sensors having such electrode architectures as well as methods for making and using these sensor electrodes. A number of working embodiments of the invention are shown to be useful in amperometric glucose sensors worn by diabetic individuals. However, the metal pillar structures have wide ranging applicability and should increase surface area and decrease charge density for catalyst layers or electrodes used with sensing, power generation, recording, and stimulation, in vitro and/or in the body, or outside the body.

Disclosed is a method of synthesizing graphene, wherein a Cu—Ni thin film laminate including a copper thin film and a nickel thin film formed thereon is placed in a chemical vapor depositor, brought into contact with a graphene precursor and subjected to chemical vapor deposition (CVD), thus synthesizing thickness-controlled graphene on the copper thin film, whereby the thickness of multilayer graphene can be easily and reproducibly controlled by adjusting only nickel thickness and CVD time, and a process window for obtaining reproducible results can be widened due to self-limiting properties whereby the maximum thickness of graphene is obtained after a certain synthesis time due to the thickness-controlled nickel thin film. Also, carbon atoms absorbed to the nickel thin film reach the copper thin film opposite thereto through internal diffusion of the metal laminate to thus grow graphene via surface-mediated reaction thereon, thereby improving the uniformity of synthesized graphene.

A 3D identification filter (101) is provided, which has a passband partially overlapping with a wavelength range of 800 nm to 1800 nm and a blocking band containing a range of 380 nm to 750 nm, and comprises a substrate (102) and filter film layers (103, 104) coated on both surfaces of the substrate, wherein the filter film layer (103) on one of the surfaces is composed of high refractive index layers, medium refractive index layers, and low refractive index layers that are stacked, and the filter film layer (104) on the other surface is composed of at least two layers of materials that are stacked. The 3D identification filter (101) maintains a high bocking level and a narrow transition band while achieving a small wavelength shift at a large light incident angle.

Certain example embodiments relate to sputtering apparatuses that include a plurality of targets such that a first one or ones of target(s) may be used for sputtering in a first mode, while a second one or ones of target(s) may be used for sputtering in a second mode. Modes may be switched in certain example embodiments by rotating the position of the targets, e.g., such that one or more target(s) to be used protrude into the main chamber of the apparatus, while one or more target(s) to be unused are recessed into a body portion of a cathode of (e.g., integrally formed with) the sputtering apparatus. The targets may be cylindrical magnetic targets or planar targets. At least one target location also may be made to accommodate an ion beam source.

Methods for forming thin, low resistivity metal layers, such as tungsten (W) and ruthenium (Ru) layers. The methods include depositing a metal material onto a substrate via ion beam deposition with assist in a process chamber at a temperature of at least 250° C. to produce the metal film. A resulting thin tungsten film has large and highly oriented α(110) grains having a resistivity less than 10 μΩ-cm and thickness less than 300 Å, with no discernable β-phase. A resulting thin ruthenium film has a resistivity less than 12 μΩ-cm and a thickness less than 300 Å.

A single beam plasma or ion source apparatus is provided. Another aspect employs an ion source including multiple magnets and magnetic shunts arranged in a generally E cross-sectional shape. A further aspect of an ion source includes magnets and/or magnetic shunts which create a magnetic flux with a central dip or outward undulation located in an open space within a plasma source. In another aspect, an ion source includes a removeable cap attached to an anode body which surrounds the magnets. Yet a further aspect provides a single beam plasma source which generates ions simultaneously with target sputtering and at the same internal pressure.