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

Claim 7:
8. An article comprising an optical encoder comprising a plurality of internal components that are enclosed within an interior of the optical encoder, a wall including one or more openings that expose the plurality of internal components during operation of the optical encoder, an optical window in the wall of the optical encoder, wherein the optical window transmits light between an external environment of the optical encoder and an interior environment of the optical encoder during the operation of the optical encoder, and a coating that is deposited onto a surface of each of the plurality of internal components enclosed within the optical encoder without altering a structure of the optical encoder and the wall, wherein the coating is a conformal, optically transparent coating, the article having been manufactured by a process comprising:
loading the optical encoder into a deposition chamber, wherein the loaded optical encoder comprises a mask covering one or more surfaces of the optical window; and
depositing the coating onto the surface of each of the plurality of internal components using a non-line-of-sight deposition process without altering the structure of the optical encoder or impacting functionality of the optical encoder, wherein depositing the coating onto the surface of the internal components comprises injecting a precursor for the coating into the deposition chamber, wherein the precursor penetrates an exterior of the optical encoder through the one or more openings of the optical encoder that expose the interior of the optical encoder to an external environment, and wherein the coating is deposited on each surface of the optical encoder that is not covered by the mask.