A system, apparatus and method enable etching of a layer of a substrate with reduced etching on the surface of a side wall of the layer. The etching method includes forming a protective layer on a surface of the side wall defining a recess in the layer. The protective layer contains phosphorus. The etching method further includes etching the layer in one or more additional cycles so as to increase a depth of the recess after the forming the protective layer.

A method of applying a coloured coating to a decorative element such as a gemstone. The method comprises: providing an ink mixture comprising an ink and an organic carrier, the carrier comprising a polymerisable organic material; arranging the ink mixture and the decorative element in a plasma; and allowing the ink mixture to polymerise on a surface of the decorative element to form a polymerised colour coating. The polymerisable organic material may comprise a polymerisable siloxane or a polymerisable oxysilane.

A coating which can be applied an article. The coating may comprise an upper side and a lower side. The coating may be applied to at least one surface of the article, and wherein the coating may be formed from a monomer and a nanomaterial which have been exposed to a plasma, in which the monomer is at least partially polymerised by the plasma.

Methods and apparatus for preparing a protective coating are described. In one example aspect, a method for preparing a protective coating includes positioning one or more target objects into a chamber. The chamber comprises a movable substrate and one or more trays coupled to the movable substrate to hold the one or more target objects such that the one or more target objects are movable within the chamber. The method also includes adding a monomer vapor into the chamber and performing a chemical vapor deposition process that comprises at least one cycle, each including a pretreatment phase and a coating phase.

Introduced here is a plasma polymerization apparatus. Example embodiments include a reaction chamber in a shape substantially symmetrical to a central axis. Some examples further include a rotation rack in the reaction chamber. The rotation rack may be operable to rotate relative to the reaction chamber about the central axis of the reaction chamber. Examples may further include reactive species discharge mechanisms positioned around a perimeter of the reaction chamber and configured to disperse reactive species into the reaction chamber in a substantially symmetrical manner from the outer perimeter of the reaction chamber toward the central axis of the reaction chamber, such that the reactive species form a polymeric coating on surfaces of the one or more substrates during said dispersion of the reactive species, and a collecting tube positioned along the central axis of the reaction chamber and having an air pressure lower than the reaction chamber.

Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to index-gradient antireflective coatings that include a differential concentration of nanovoids versus thickness of the coating. In one embodiment, an index-gradient antireflective coating may have an index of refraction that varies from a first value to that of a second material. In another embodiment, the substrate may be optically transparent, and made of, for example, polymer, glass, or ceramics. The index-gradient antireflective coating can be fabricated using a non-uniform spin-coating process, by successive thermal evaporation, or by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. In another embodiment, the spin-coating process can include multiple steps that include different concentrations of monomers to solvent, different spin-speeds, or different annealing times/temperatures. Similarly, the thermal evaporation can include multiple steps that include different concentrations of monomers, initiators, solvents, and associated processing parameters. Various other methods, systems, apparatuses, and materials are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method for forming a polymeric nanocoating on a substrate as well as substrates bearing the polymeric nanocoating. The method comprises exposing the substrate to a plasma comprising one or more unsaturated monomeric species for a period of time sufficient to allow the coating to form on the substrate. The one or more unsaturated monomeric species comprise (i) an aromatic moiety and (ii) a carbonyl moiety. The one or more unsaturated monomeric species also comprise a crosslinking reagent.

Described herein are articles and methods of making articles, for example glass articles, including a sheet and a carrier, wherein the sheet and carrier are bonded together using a coating layer, which is, for example, a fluorocarbon polymer coating layer, and associated deposition methods and inert gas treatments that may be applied on the sheet, the carrier, or both, to control the fluorine content of the coating layer and van der Waals, hydrogen and covalent bonding between the sheet and the carrier. The coating layer bonds the sheet and carrier together with sufficient bond strength to prevent delamination of the sheet and the carrier during high temperature processing to while preventing a permanent bond at during high temperature processing while at the same time maintaining a sufficient bond to prevent delamination during high temperature processing.

The present disclosure provides a hydrophobic low-dielectric-constant film and a preparation method therefor. The low-dielectric-constant film is formed from one or more fluorine-containing compounds A by means of a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method, and the one or more fluorine-containing compounds comprise a compound having the general formula C.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.mH.sub.nF.sub.2x+2y−n+2 or C.sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.mH.sub.nF.sub.2x+2y−n, x being an integer from 1 to 20, y being an integer from 0 to 8, m being an integer from 0 to 6, and n being 0, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 19. Thus, a nano-film having a low dielectric constant and good hydrophobicity is formed on the surface of a substrate.

The invention relates to a coating method for energetic material (12), in particular in a vacuum. The energetic material (12) is coated by chemical or physical vapor deposition. The coating material (16) is electrically conductive and/or hydrophobic or hydrophilic. The energetic material (12) is shaped as grains and/or pellets and/or is in the form of a powder.