A method for decorating a substrate which includes the succession of the following steps: provide the substrate; deposit a layer of a sacrificial material over a surface of the substrate; structure the sacrificial material layer so as to create in this sacrificial material layer a plurality of cavities to form a decorative or technical pattern; eliminate the sacrificial material layer except at the location where the pattern is provided.

EC film stacks and different layers within the EC film stacks are disclosed. Methods of manufacturing these layers are also disclosed. In one embodiment, an EC layer comprises nanostructured EC layer. These layers may be manufactured by various methods, including, including, but not limited to glancing angle deposition, oblique angle deposition, electrophoresis, electrolyte deposition, and atomic layer deposition. The nanostructured EC layers have a high specific surface area, improved response times, and higher color efficiency.

EC film stacks and different layers within the EC film stacks are disclosed. Methods of manufacturing these layers are also disclosed. In one embodiment, an EC layer comprises nanostructured EC layer. These layers may be manufactured by various methods, including, including, but not limited to glancing angle deposition, oblique angle deposition, electrophoresis, electrolyte deposition, and atomic layer deposition. The nanostructured EC layers have a high specific surface area, improved response times, and higher color efficiency.

An exterior material for cooking appliance capable of improving visibility, Vickers hardness, and scratch resistance by forming laser holes in a surface of an exterior material including a Diamond like carbon (DLC) coating layer, and a method for manufacturing the exterior material. The cooking appliance exterior material includes a base material, a Diamond like carbon (DLC) coating layer provided on the base material, an adhesive layer provided between the base material and the DLC coating layer to attach the DLS coating layer to the base material to incase an adhesion force between the base material and the DLC coating layer, and a plurality of laser holes provided in a surface of the exterior material.

A process for protecting a part made of a hafnium-free nickel-based single-crystal superalloy against corrosion and oxidation includes manufacturing a part made of a hafnium-free nickel-based single-crystal superalloy, depositing successively on the part, a first layer including hafnium, then a mixed layer of stacked layers of an undercoat of an alloy having 10 atomic % or more of aluminum and a second layer including hafnium or a mixed layer of an alloy of aluminum and hafnium, and then a third layer including hafnium, and diffusing and performing an oxidation treatment so as to obtain a hafnium-doped alumina layer.

Conventional electrochromic devices frequently suffer from poor reliability and poor performance. Improvements are made using entirely solid and inorganic materials. Electrochromic devices are fabricated by forming an ion conducting electronically insulating interfacial region that serves as an IC layer. In some methods, the interfacial region is formed after formation of an electrochromic and a counter electrode layer, which are in direct contact with one another. The interfacial region contains an ion conducting electronically insulating material along with components of the electrochromic and/or the counter electrode layer. Materials and microstructure of the electrochromic devices provide improvements in performance and reliability over conventional devices. In addition to the improved electrochromic devices and methods for fabrication, integrated deposition systems for forming such improved devices are also disclosed.

Methods for making films including a water-soluble polymeric material and a vapor-deposited inorganic coating are disclosed. The method comprises providing a layer of water-soluble polymeric material and vapor depositing an inorganic coating to at least one surface of the layer of water-soluble polymeric material, wherein the inorganic coating comprises a metal oxide. The method further comprises forming a plurality of microfractures extending along the surface of the inorganic coating.

A vacuum process method for a magnetic recording medium having a surface protective layer for protecting a magnetic recording layer formed on a substrate includes a ta-C film forming step of forming a ta-C film on the magnetic recording layer, a transportation step of transporting a substrate on which the ta-C film is formed, a radical generation step of generating radicals by exciting a process gas, and a radical process step of irradiating a surface of the ta-C film with the radicals.

A method of fiber laser processing of thin film deposited on a substrate includes providing a laser beam from at least one fiber laser which is guided through a beam-shaping unit onto the thin film. The beam-shaping optics is configured to shape the laser beam into a line beam which irradiates a first irradiated thin film area Ab on a surface of the thin film, with the irradiated thin film area Ab being a fraction of the thin film area Af. By continuously displacing the beam shaping optics and the film relative to one another in a first direction at a distance dy between sequential irradiations, a sequence of uniform irradiated thin film areas Ab are formed on the film surface defining thus a first elongated column. Thereafter the beam shaped optics and film are displaced relative to one another at a distance dx in a second direction transverse to the first direction with the distance dx being smaller than a length of the irradiated film area Ab. With the steps performed to form respective columns, the elongated columns overlap one another covering the desired thin film area Af. The dx and dy distances are so selected that that each location of the film area Af is exposed to the shaped laser beam during a cumulative predetermined duration.

The present invention provides a method of forming a crystalline or polycrystalline layer of an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material comprising a three-dimensional crystal structure represented by the formula AMX.sub.3, in which A represents an organic cation or a mixture of two or more different cations, at least one of which is an organic cation, M represents a divalent metal cation or a mixture of two or more different divalent metal cations, and X represents halide anions which are the same or different, the method comprising the steps of: (i) forming a first layer on the surface of a substrate, the first layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material having a planar, layered two-dimensional crystal structure (ii) reacting the first layer with one or more organic halides to form the crystalline or polycrystalline layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material having the formula AMX.sub.3. Also provided is an optoelectronic or photovoltaic device including an active layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material comprising a three-dimensional crystal structure represented by the formula AMX.sub.3, wherein the material is obtainable using the above defined method.