(under subclass 902) Process wherein ion plating or ion implantation is used during any stage of the coating operation to deposit a diamond-like coating.
(1) Note. Ion plating or implantation is considered to be a process of (a) evaporating coating material in the presence of an electrical discharge (arc, beam, etc.) in an energetic gaseous medium, which forms or is associated with a cathode polarized by a high negative voltage relative to the source of the coating material, and depositing the coating material onto the substrate, with simultaneous bombardment by ions which cause momentum transfer (sputtering) on the substrate to occur or (b) coating material is introduced into or penetrates the near-surface region of a substrate by directing an accelerated beam or stream of energetic (charged) ions including the coating material, toward the substrate.
(2) Note. The term ion plating is applied to a combination of process steps that include: (a) sputtering of the surface of a substrate due to momentum transfer, and (b) simultaneously or subsequentially depositing a coating on the substrate from a flux of ionic coating material (i.e., usually considered to be a high energy plasma with a small flux of ions and a much larger number of energetic neutrals).
(3) Note. Ion implantation of the near surface region of a substrate to create a distinguishable layer differing in composition from the substrate will be proper for this class, regardless of whether the implantation of this layer is limited to the microstructure or not.
(4) Note. Ion plating, wherein the target material and the substrate are one and the same is proper for this subclass and indented subclasses.
(5) Note. Processes utilizing ion bombardment or ion treating that specifies neither implanting, etching, plating, etc., but merely recites some change as in the materials characteristic properties will be classified in this subclass.
