Thin films are material layers of about 1 µm thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction. Some work is being done with ferromagnetic thin films as well for use as computer memory. A micrometre (American spelling: micrometer), symbol µm, is an SI unit of length. ... The field of electronics is the study and use of systems that operate by controlling the flow of electrons (or other charge carriers) in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. ... A semiconductor is a material with an electrical conductivity that is intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor. ... See also list of optical topics. ... Ferromagnetism is a phenomenon by which a material can exhibit a spontaneous magnetization, and is one of the strongest forms of magnetism. ...

Ceramic thin films are also in wide use. The relatively high hardness and inertness of ceramic materials make this type of thin coating of interest for protection of substrate materials against corrosion, oxidation and wear. In particular, the use of such coatings on cutting tools may extend the life of these items by several orders of magnitude. ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

Thin-film technologies are also being developed as a means of substantially reducing the cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The rationale for this is that thin-film modules are expected to be cheaper to manufacture owing to their reduced material costs, energy costs, handling costs and capital costs. However, thin films have had to be developed using new semiconductor materials, including amorphous silicon, copper indium diselenide, cadmium telluride and film crystalline silicon. In all cases, these technologies face major technical and financial hurdles. A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ... Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic brown Atomic mass 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number indium, In, 49 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 114. ... The selenide ion is Se2-. A selenide is a chemical compound in which selenium serves as a anion with oxidation number of -2, much as sulfur does in a sulfide. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cadmium, Cd, 48 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metallic Atomic mass 112. ... Telluride is either: A compound of a metal with the element Tellurium. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silicon, Si, 14 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 14, 3, p Appearance dark gray, bluish tinge Atomic mass 28. ...

Techniques

• Thin-film deposition in CBD method
  • Sputtering
  • Chemical vapor deposition
  • Molecular beam epitaxy
  • Sol-Gel Process
  • Spin coating
  • Pulsed laser deposition

Sputtering is a physical process whereby atoms in a solid target material are ejected into the gas phase due to bombardment of the material by energetic ions. ... DC plasma (violet) enhances the growth of carbon nanotubes in this laboratory-scale PECVD apparatus. ... Molecular beam epitaxy, abbreviated MBE, is the deposition of one or more pure materials onto a single crystal wafer, one layer of atoms at a time, under ultra-high vacuum, forming a perfect crystal. ... Sol gel is an inorganic, catalytic silicon oxide gel, used for its negative tone photosensitive properties. ... Spin coating is a procedure used to apply uniform thin films to flat substrates. ... Pulsed laser deposition is a thin film deposition technique. ...

See also

• Thin-film optics
  • Dispersion (optics)
• Thin-film transistor
• Thin film memory