Method of ion beam milling substrate prior to depositing diamond like carbon layer thereon

A method of making a coated article comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate;
• ion beam milling substantially an entire surface of the substrate so as to thin the substrate and smoothen the surface of the substrate, said ion beam milling being performed so as to reduce the thickness of at least a portion of the substrate by from about 4-20 Å in order to improve scratch resistance;
• and
• depositing a coating system on at least a portion of the ion beam milled surface of the substrate following said ion beam milling step so as to form the coated article.

A method of making a coated article comprising the steps of:

• providing a glass substrate;
• ion beam milling at least a portion of a surface of the glass substrate in order to make the surface more smooth and to reduce the thickness of at least a portion of the substrate by from about 4-20 Å in order to improve scratch resistance;
• and
• depositing a coating system including at least one diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer on at least a portion of the ion beam milled surface of the substrate following said ion beam milling step in forming the coated article.