Method for producing a coating comprising at least one PVD coating layer, wherein for the production of the at least one PVD coating layer materials from one or more targets are evaporated by using a PVD technique in a coating chamber comprising oxygen and nitrogen as reactive gases, wherein during deposition of the at least one PVD coating layer a multi-anion HEA-oxynitride structure is formed, which comprises a cation lattice formed of five or more elements and an anion lattice formed of two or more elements, wherein if only two elements are present in the anion lattice, they are oxygen and nitrogen.

Provided is a novel oxygen reduction catalyst having good stability and higher oxygen reduction performance.

The oxygen reduction catalyst includes a composite oxide comprising a conductive tin oxide containing Zr.

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.

Striated composite layers are deposited using reactive electron-beam evaporation of hafnium dioxide and silicon dioxide sublayers in a planetary rotation or linear translation system in which the hafnia and silica vapor plumes are present at the same time, and yet the hafnia and silica sublayers are distinct. The resulting StriCom materials exhibit significant improvements in laser-induced damage thresholds, thin-film stresses, environmental sensitivity, and control of refractive indices relative to monolayer hafnia films.

An object of the present invention is to provide a transparent barrier film that has excellent acid resistance and is inexpensive, and a method for producing the same. A transparent gas barrier film includes a plastic film and an aluminum oxide layer provided on at least one surface of the plastic film, the aluminum oxide layer mainly composed of aluminum oxide. The absorption coefficient of the inorganic oxide layer immediately after vapor-deposition is less than 0.03 nm.sup.−1, and the film thickness of the inorganic oxide layer is 6 nm or more and 10 nm or less.

A coated cutting tool includes a substrate with a coating having a total thickness of 0.25-30 μm. The coating has a first layer and a second layer, the first layer being a wear resistant PVD deposited layer having a thickness of 0.2-15 μm arranged between the substrate and the second layer, and wherein the second layer is a Cr layer.

Provided herein are core-shell heterostructures design comprising a metal (e.g., noble metal) nanoparticle core and a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) shell, and methods of preparation and use thereof. In particular embodiments, the core-shell heterostructures described herein are synthesized by direct growth of a monolayer or multilayer fullerene-like TMD shell on a metal (e.g., noble metal) nanoparticle core, exhibit unique Raman scattering and photoluminescence characteristics, and are useful, for example, in plasmonic hot electron enhanced optics and optoelectronics.

The average thickness t.sub.T of a magnetic recording medium meets the requirement that t.sub.T≤5.5 [μm], and the dimensional change amount Δw in the width direction of the magnetic recording medium with respect to the tension change in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic recording medium meets the requirement that 700 ppm/N≤Δw.

A composite nitride-based film structure includes a bulk single crystal, a plurality of nitride microcrystals, and an amorphous nitride thin film. The plurality of nitride microcrystals is provided on the bulk single crystal, and has a specific orientation relationship with a crystal structure of the bulk single crystal. The nitride thin film is provided on the bulk single crystal, surrounds the nitride microcrystal, and covers a surface of the bulk single crystal.

A method for producing a spectral gradient filter on a substrate including: providing the substrate with a first surface to be coated; providing a shadow mask that includes a bordered coating area with an edge, wherein the geometry of the shadow mask is adjusted to the desired gradient profile of the gradient filter; creating a masked substrate by fixing the shadow mask on the first substrate surface to be coated in such a way that parts of the substrate surface are covered, but the substrate surface is essentially exposed in the coating area; and carrying out PVD coating so that parts of the shadow mask lie directly on the surface of the substrate so that no vapour migration occurs in the area of these parts during the coating process and the shadow mask is detachably fixed to the substrate so that the shadow mask can be used for several coatings.