# US 2019/0170911 A1 · Scale and manufacturing method of the same

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- Number: US 2019/0170911 A1
- Document ID: US20190170911A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/207,411
- Filed: 2018-12-03
- Published: 2019-06-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-12-05
- Assignees: Mitutoyo Corporation
- Applicants: Mitutoyo Corporation
- Inventors: Toshihiko Aoki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190170911A1

## CPC

- G02B 1/14: Protective coatings, e.g. hard coatings
- G01D 5/34707: {Scales; Discs, e.g. fixation, fabrication, compensation}
- G02B 1/18: Coatings for keeping optical surfaces clean, e.g. hydrophobic or photo-catalytic films (G02B1/16 takes precedence)
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G01D: MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A scale includes: a substrate; scale gratings that are formed on a face of the substrate and has a plurality of gratings at a predetermined interval; and a protective layer that is made of fluoride and covers the scale gratings and an exposed portion of the face of the substrate.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A scale comprising:
a substrate;
scale gratings that are formed on a face of the substrate and has a plurality of gratings at a predetermined interval; and
a protective layer that is made of fluoride and covers the scale gratings and an exposed portion of the face of the substrate.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The scale as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the protective layer is 3 μm or less.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The scale as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the protective layer is 1 μm or less.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The scale as claimed in claim 1, wherein a surface of the protective layer is flat or approximately flat.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The scale as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluoride is a polymer of fluorocarbon.

### Claim 6

A manufacturing method of a scale comprising:
forming a protective layer on a face of a substrate by a plasma polymerization, the substrate having scale gratings of a plurality of gratings arranged at a predetermined interval, the protective layer being made of fluoride and covering the scale gratings and an exposed portion of the face of the substrate.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein, in the forming of the protective layer, a surface of the protective layer is shaped into flat or approximately flat.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein further comprising:
forming the scale gratings by etching a layer to be etched that is formed on the face of the substrate, by using a plasma etching device,
wherein, in the forming of the protective layer, the protective layer is formed by a plasma polymerization of the fluoride gas, by changing an operation condition of the plasma etching device.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein:
in the forming of the scale gratings, the scale gratings are formed by performing the etching with use of a mask; and
the mask is removed by using the plasma etching device.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fluoride is a polymer of fluorocarbon.