Metallic materials with multimodal microstructure and methods of forming the metallic materials are disclosed. Exemplary methods allow for tuning of desired properties of the metallic materials and of devices including the metallic materials.

A light-emitting diode includes: a light emitting epitaxial structure including a first-type semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second-type semiconductor layer, and having a first surface as a light emitting surface, and an opposing second surface; a conducting layer formed over the second surface and including a physical plating layer and a chemical plating layer, wherein the physical plating layer is adjacent to the light emitting epitaxial structure and has cracks, and the chemical plating layer fills the cracks in the physical plating layer; and a submount coupled to the light emitting epitaxial laminated layer through the conducting layer.

A piston ring is produced from a main body made of steel or cast steel and comprising a running face, an inner circumferential surface, upper and lower flank regions, and transition regions from the running face to the respective flank region, by coating the running face and the transition regions with a first chromium layer, removing this first chromium layer at the running face down to the base material of the main body, providing at least the running face of the layer-free main body with a nitride layer, and, finally, coating the running face and the transition regions with at least one further chromium layer.

Provided is a faucet fixture to which antifouling functionality is imparted without causing localized corrosion. The present invention is a faucet fixture comprising a metal base material and a plating layer partially formed on the surface of the metal base material. The metal base material contains at least one metal element species selected from the group consisting of copper, zinc, and tin. The plating layer contains at least one metal element species selected from the group consisting of chromium and nickel. An organic layer is further provided on the plating layer, with a passive layer present on the surface of the plating layer being interposed therebetween. The organic layer is bonded to the passive layer via the bonding of a metal element (M), which constitutes the passive layer, and a phosphorus atom (P) in at least one type of group (X) selected from the group consisting of phosphonate groups, phosphate groups, and phosphinate groups, with an oxygen atom (O) interposed therebetween (M-OP bond). Group X is bonded to a group R (wherein R is a hydrocarbon group, or a group comprising an atom other than carbon at one or two locations within a hydrocarbon group). The phosphorus atom concentration in the portion of the surface of the metal base material on which the plating layer is not formed is lower than the phosphorus atom concentration in the organic layer provided on the plating layer.

A method comprising: cold-spraying a surface of a substrate with a bond material to form a bond coating; and cold-spraying a surface of the bond coating with a coating material to form a top coating. The bond material is different from the coating material and harder than the surface of the substrate.

A method of manufacturing a tinted metal plated substrate includes injection molding a tinted polymer layer onto an activated metal layer of a metal plated substrate. The tinted polymer layer is a tinted polyurethane layer or a tinted polyurea layer and the activated metal layer can be a plasma activated metal layer, for example, an oxygen plasma activated metal layer that is free of a coupling agent when the tinted polymer layer is injected molded thereon. At least one additional metallic layer can be disposed between the activated metal layer and a polymer substrate. For example, at least one of a nickel layer and a copper layer can be disposed between an activated chromium layer and a polymer substrate.

Provided are a conductive laminate capable of achieving both high transmittance and low electric resistance, and various optical devices equipped with the same. A conductive laminate (1) includes a first transparent material layer (3), a metal layer (4) mainly composed of silver, and a second transparent material layer (5) laminated on at least one surface of a transparent substrate (2) in this order from the side of the transparent substrate (2), wherein the first transparent material layer (3) is composed of a zinc-free metal oxide, the second transparent material layer (5) is composed of a zinc-containing metal oxide, and the metal layer (4) has a thickness of 7 nm or more.

Provided is a plating film containing Au and Tl, including Tl oxides including Tl.sub.2O on a surface of the plating film, a ratio of Tl atoms constituting Tl.sub.2O to a total of Tl atoms constituting the Tl oxides and Tl atoms constituting Tl simple substances on the surface being 40% or more.

A cutting tool includes: a substrate; and a coating film formed on the substrate, wherein the coating film includes a first layer formed on the substrate, and a second layer formed on the first layer, the first layer is composed of a boride including zirconium as a component element, and the second layer is composed of a nitride including zirconium as a component element.

This Sn-plated steel sheet includes: a base plated steel sheet having a steel sheet, and a Sn-plated layer on at least one surface of the steel sheet; and a film layer which contains a zirconium oxide and a tin oxide and is positioned on the base plated steel sheet. An adhesion amount of Sn per surface of the Sn-plated steel sheet is 0.1 g/m.sup.2 or more and 15 g/m.sup.2 or less, an amount of the zirconium oxide in the film layer is in a range of 1 mg/m.sup.2 or more and 30 mg/m.sup.2 or less in terms of an amount of metal Zr, a peak position of a binding energy of Sn3d.sub.5/2 of the tin oxide by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in the film layer is within a range of 1.4 eV or more and less than 1.6 eV from a peak position of a binding energy of metal Sn, and a quantity of electricity required for reduction of the tin oxide is in a range of more than 5.0 mC/cm.sup.2 and 20 mC/cm.sup.2 or less.