Abstract: A method of making a heat treated coated article includes forming at least one layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) on a glass substrate, and forming a removable protective film on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising DLC. The removable protective film includes first and second inorganic layers, the first inorganic layer comprising zinc oxide and nitrogen and being located between the layer comprising DLC and the second inorganic layer. The glass substrate may be heat treated so that during the heat treating the protective film prevents significant burnoff of the layer comprising DLC.

Abstract: A coated article is provided that may be heat treated in certain example embodiments. A graded layer (e.g., contact layer or other suitable layer) is formed by initially sputter-depositing a layer, and thereafter ion beam treating the sputter-deposited layer with at least reactive gas ions in order to form a graded layer. In certain example embodiments, the result is a coated article that has improved visible transmission and/or durability, without sacrificing optional heat treatability.