Apple Inc.

Lijie Bao

Brian S Tryon

Sonja R Postak

Christopher D Prest

Martin Melcher

Isabel Yang

Jozef M Matlak

Jeremy Li

Yi Heng Chen

James A Yurko

Todd S Mintz

Brian M Gable

Yi Chun Chen

James Yurko

Todd Mintz

Brian Gable

Jiayun Liu

Fei Tong

Shiva K Mandepudi

Maruwada Sukanya Sharma

An electronic device may include conductive structures with a light-reflecting coating. The coating may have a two or four-layer thin-film interference filter. The two-layer filter may have a CrN layer and an SiCrN layer. The four-layer filter may have two CrN layers and two SiCrN layers. The two-layer filter may be used to coat relatively small conductive components. The four-layer filter may be used to coat a conductive housing sidewall. Both types of interference filter may produce a relatively uniform light blue color despite variations in coating thickness produced on account of the geometry of the underlying conductive structure.

Light color coatings for electronic devices

An electronic device such as a wristwatch may include a conductive housing. A corrosion-resistant coating may be deposited on the conductive housing. The coating may include transition layers and an uppermost alloy layer. The transition layers may include a chromium seed layer on the conductive housing and a chromium nitride layer on the chromium seed layer. The uppermost alloy layer may include TiCrCN or other alloys and may provide the coating with desired optical reflection and absorption characteristics. The transition layers may include a minimal number of coating defects, thereby eliminating potential sites at which visible defects could form when exposed to salt water. This may allow the electronic device to exhibit a desired color and to be submerged in salt water without producing undesirable visible defects on the conductive housing structures.

Electronic devices having corrosion-resistant coatings

An electronic device may include conductive structures such as conductive housing structures. A high-brightness, visible-light-reflecting coating may be formed on the conductive structures. The coating may have adhesion and transition layers and an uppermost coloring layer on the adhesion and transition layers. At least the uppermost coloring layer may be deposited using a high impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) process. The uppermost coloring layer may include a TiCrN film, a TiCrCN film, a TiCN film, or a metal nitride film that contains Ti, Zr, Hf, or Cr. The coating may exhibit a high-brightness gold color.

Bright color coatings for electronic devices

An electronic device may include conductive structures having a visible-light-reflecting coating. The coating may include a seed layer, transition layers, a neutral-color base layer, and an uppermost layer that forms a single-layer interference film. The neutral-color base layer may be opaque to visible light. The interference film may include silicon and may have an absorption coefficient between 0 and 1. The interference film may include, for example, CrSiN or CrSiCN. The composition of the interference film, the thickness of the interference film, and/or the composition of the base layer may be selected to provide the coating with a desired color near the middle of the visible spectrum (e.g., at green wavelengths). The color may be relatively stable even if the thickness of the coating varies across its area.

Electronic device coatings for reflecting mid-spectrum visible light

An electronic device may include conductive structures having a visible-light-reflecting coating. The coating may include a seed layer, transition layers, a neutral-color base layer, and an uppermost layer that forms a single-layer interference film. The neutral-color base layer may be opaque to visible light. The interference film may include silicon and may have an absorption coefficient between 0 and 1. The interference film may include, for example, CrSiCN or CrSiC. The composition of the interference film, the thickness of the interference film, and/or the composition of the base layer may be selected to provide the coating with a desired color in the visible spectrum (e.g., at blue or purple wavelengths). The color may be relatively stable even if the thickness of the coating varies across its area.

Visible-light-reflecting coatings for electronic devices

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Lijie Bao