Thin film
hideThin films are thin material layers ranging from fractions of a nanometre to several micrometres in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction.
Work is being done with ferromagnetic thin films for use as computer memory. It is also being applied to pharmaceuticals, via thin film drug delivery. Thin-films are used to produce thin-film batteries.
Ceramic thin films are 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 can extend the life of these items by several orders of magnitude.
Research is being done on a new class of thin film inorganic oxide materials, called amorphous heavy-metal cation multicomponent oxide, which could be used to make transparent transistors that are inexpensive, stable, and environmentally benign.
For more information about Thin film, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with thin films
Sculptured materials allow multiple channel plasmonic sensors
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sensors, communications devices and imaging equipment that use a prism and a special form of light -- a surface plasmon-polariton -- may incorporate multiple channels or redundant applications if manufacturers ...
Antimicrobials: Silver (and copper) bullets to kill bacteria
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
Dana Filoti of the University of New Hampshire will present thin films of silver and copper she has developed that can kill bacteria and may one day help to cut down on hospital infections. The antimicrobial properties of ...
Researchers create nanoparticle coating to prevent freezing rain buildup (w/ Video)
Oct 29, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Preventing the havoc wrought when freezing rain collects on roads, power lines, and aircrafts could be only a few nanometers away. A University of Pittsburgh-led team demonstrates in the Nov. 3 edition of ...
New nanostructure technology provides advances in eyeglass, solar energy performance
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new technology to deposit "nanostructure films" on various surfaces, which may first find use as coatings for eyeglasses that ...
Self-destructing messages: Light-reactive coatings make metal nanoparticles into inks for self-erasing paper
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 26, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Those who like to watch spy movies like “Mission Impossible” are familiar with the self-destructing messages that inform the secret agents of the details of their mission and then dissolve in a puff of smoke. ...
Plastics that convert light to electricity could have a big impact
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 04, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (12) |
5
University of Washington researchers have found a way to measure exactly how much electrical current is carried by tiny bubbles and channels that form inside nanoscale solar cells, paving the way for development ...
Controlling the electronic surface properties of a material
Jul 17, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (14) |
0
A recent breakthrough by researchers at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute sees for the first time the creation of thin films with controllable electronic properties. This discovery could have a large impact ...
Peeling stickers may lead to stretchable electronics
Jun 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A study of stickers peeling from windows could lead to a new way to precisely control the fabrication of stretchable electronics, according to a team of researchers including one at MIT.
Using nanoparticles to increase the effiiciency of thin film solar cells
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jun 12, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (19) |
8
Germany is one of the leading countries when it comes to efforts related to renewable energy sources. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Institute of Condensed Matter and Solid State Optics at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität ...
Researchers create freestanding nanoparticle films without fillers
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jun 09, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
0
Nanoparticle films are no longer a delicate matter: Vanderbilt physicists have found a way to make them strong enough so they don't disintegrate at the slightest touch.
Thinnest superconducting metal created
Jun 08, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
2
A superconducting sheet of lead only two atoms thick, the thinnest superconducting metal layer ever created, has been developed by physicists at The University of Texas at Austin.
Terahertz Waves Are Effective Probes for IC Heat Barriers
May 06, 2009 |
3 / 5 (7) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- By modifying a commonly used commercial infrared spectrometer to allow operation at long-wave terahertz frequencies, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology discovered ...
Stretchable Nanotube Films May Advance Medical Electronics (Update)
May 04, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (10) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the issues hindering the development of medical electronic devices capable of being implanted in the human body is the lack of suitable materials. Most semiconducting materials are ...
Window display
Apr 14, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Just one click and the window turns into a display. At the Hannover Messe from April 20 to 24, Fraunhofer research scientists will be demonstrating light-permeable conductive coatings as the basis for transparent displays. ...
Molecular Alignment Gives Monolayers the Edge in Bendable Semiconductor
Apr 07, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Reprogrammable product tags, bendable displays and flexible solar cells--the field of organic semiconductor research is advancing these possibilities toward reality. By layering hydrocarbon ...
