Patent ID: 11933942
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC G  B  C | IPC B  C  G

Claim 0:
1. An article comprising:
an optical encoder comprising:
a plurality of internal components enclosed within the optical encoder;
a wall including one or more openings that expose the plurality of internal components to an exterior environment of the optical encoder during operation of the optical encoder;
an optical window in the wall of the optical encoder, wherein the optical window is configured to transmit light between the exterior environment of the optical encoder and an interior environment of the optical encoder during the operation of the optical encoder,

wherein one or more surfaces of the optical window in the wall of the optical window are covered by a mask during a coating process for the optical encoder; and
a coating that is deposited, by the coating process, onto a surface of each of the plurality of internal components enclosed within the optical encoder and each exterior surface of the optical encoder that is not covered by the mask, wherein the coating is deposited onto the surface of each of the plurality of internal components via the one or more openings of the optical encoder and without altering a structure of the optical encoder and the wall, and wherein the coating is a conformal, optically transparent coating that is resistant to corrosion by at least one of fluorine-based acids, chlorine-based acids, sulfur-based acids, hydrogen-based acids, bromine-based acids, or nitrogen-based acids and that does not negatively impact a functionality of the plurality of internal components.