An
ion beam deposition method is provided for manufacturing a coated substrate with improved abrasion resistance, and improved lifetime. According to the method, the substrate is first chemically cleaned to remove contaminants. In the second step, the substrate is inserted into a
vacuum chamber, and the air in said chamber is evacuated. In the third step, the
substrate surface is bombarded with energetic ions to assist in the removal of residual hydrocarbons and surface oxides, and to activate the surface. <DEL-S DATE="20010724" ID="DEL-S-00001">Alter<DEL-E ID="DEL-S-00001"> <INS-S DATE="20010724" ID="INS-S-00001">After <INS-E ID="INS-S-00001">the
substrate surface has been sputter-etched, a protective, abrasion-resistant
coating is deposited by
ion beam deposition. The
ion beam-deposited
coating may contain one or more
layers. Once the chosen thickness of the
coating has been achieved, the
deposition process on the substrates is terminated, the
vacuum chamber pressure is increased to
atmospheric pressure, and the coated substrate products having improved abrasion-resistance are removed from the
vacuum chamber. The coated products of this invention have utility as plastic sunglass lenses, ophthalmic lenses, bar codes
scanner windows, and industrial wear parts that must be protected from scratches and abrasion.