Provided is a plain bearing including a backing layer, a bearing metal layer, an optional intermediate layer and an overlay. The overlay includes a plurality of sub-layers disposed one on top of the other, which sub-layers include two or more relatively soft sub-layers and one or more relatively hard sub-layer. The soft and hard sub-layers are arranged alternately with respect to one another. Each soft sub-layer includes a metal or metal alloy, and each hard sub-layer includes one or more intermetallic compound. A method of making a coated plain bearing is also provided.

A film growth apparatus (e.g., a nitridation apparatus) includes a processing chamber, a substrate holder disposed in the processing chamber, an energy source coupled to the processing chamber, and one or more gas inlets fluidically coupled to the processing chamber. The substrate holder is configured to support a substrate (e.g., a silicon substrate) maintained at a temperature less than about 400 C. The energy source is configured to treat an unreactive surface of the substrate in the processing chamber to convert the unreactive surface to a reactive surface by exposing the unreactive surface to an energy flux. The one or more gas inlets are configured to convert (e.g., nitridate) the reactive surface using a gas (e.g., nitrogen-based gas) without generating plasma by converting the reactive surface to a film (e.g., a nitride layer) comprising a subsequent unreactive surface.

Component with a component (1) made of steel, wherein the component is at least partially coated with a nickel diffusion layer (10), and the layer thickness of the nickel diffusion layer (10) is 1-500 m and the nickel diffusion layer (10) has a nickel content, based on the total weight of the nickel diffusion layer, of 2 wt. % above the nickel content of the steel up to a maximum concentration, the nickel content in the nickel diffusion layer (10) increasing continuously in the direction of the surface (12) of the nickel diffusion layer (10) from 2% by weight up to the maximum concentration and the maximum concentration being 20-100% by weight.

A surface of an article is modified by first disposing a nickel-enriched region at the surface of a substrate, then enriching the nickel-enriched region with aluminum to form an aluminized region, and finally removing at least a portion of the aluminized region to form a processed surface of the substrate. Upon removal of this material, the roughness of the surface is reduced from a comparatively high initial roughness value to a comparatively low processed roughness value. In some embodiments, the processed roughness is less than about 95% of the initial roughness. Moreover, the sequence of steps described herein may be iterated one or more times to achieve further reduction in substrate surface roughness.

A surface of an article is modified by first disposing a nickel-enriched region at the surface of a substrate, then enriching the nickel-enriched region with aluminum to form an aluminized region, and finally removing at least a portion of the aluminized region to form a processed surface of the substrate. Upon removal of this material, the roughness of the surface is reduced from a comparatively high initial roughness value to a comparatively low processed roughness value. In some embodiments, the processed roughness is less than about 95% of the initial roughness. Moreover, the sequence of steps described herein may be iterated one or more times to achieve further reduction in substrate surface roughness.

Provided is a non-oriented electrical steel sheet having excellent adhesion with an insulating coating even if the thickness of the insulating coating is reduced. The non-oriented electrical steel sheet of the present disclosure has an insulating coating on at least one surface of the steel sheet, where the insulating coating has a P-concentrated layer on both a surface side and an interface side with a steel substrate, and a P concentration of the P-concentrated layer is higher than a P concentration in the steel substrate.

The present disclosure relates to a surface-functionalized metal foil and a method of preparing the same. According to the method of preparing the surface-functionalized metal foil, metal nanoparticles are adsorbed as a single layer on a metal substrate, and then the metal nanoparticles are irradiated with light to form a surface functional layer.

A method of disposing a corrosion resistant system to a substrate is disclosed. The method includes applying a plating material to the substrate, forming a chemical conversion coating solution by combining a solvent, at least one corrosion inhibitive cation comprising at least one of zirconium, titanium, cerium, vanadium species, manganese, or niobium, and at least one corrosion inhibitive anion comprising at least one of phosphate, molybdate, or silicate, and applying the chemical conversion coating solution to the plating material on the substrate.

A method of disposing a corrosion resistant system to a substrate is disclosed. The method includes applying a plating material to the substrate, forming a chemical conversion coating solution by combining a solvent, at least one corrosion inhibitive cation comprising at least one of zirconium, titanium, cerium, vanadium species, manganese, or niobium, and at least one corrosion inhibitive anion comprising at least one of phosphate, molybdate, or silicate, and applying the chemical conversion coating solution to the plating material on the substrate.