The Many Application of a Thin Film!

As the name indicates a thin film is a very slim layer of any material that goes from measurements that are fragments of a nanometer to one or two micrometers in their thickness. Any covering which is this thin is commonly known as thin film coating. This thin film coating can be of a large amount of different materials depending on the surface the said coating is to be applied. There are many applications of thin film or thin film coating. The most typical devices that benefit from such coatings are electronic semiconductor devices.

Even household mirrors are made through the application of thin films, though the coating in mirrors is that of thin metal. People can also increase the performance of the optical coatings by utilizing the sort of thin film coating that has multiple layers that vary from each other in the thickness of the numerous layers and the refractive indices. Other applications of thin film coating include pharmaceutical applications and PC devices. These thin films are also being used in the manufacture of solar power cells. Other sort of thin films that are frequently utilized are the ones made from ceramics. Even though the layer of ceramic is thin, it provides materials on which it is applied with the proper protection. These thin films may also be applied on cutting tools and this makes them tougher.

The process of trying a thin film covering on different materials is commonly known as the thin film deposition process. There are several systems that allow a layer of atoms to be deposited on materials one at a time. This process is useful for the producing of electronics, different packing techniques and different types of optics. The thin film deposition process can be of two types, chemical or physical and it depends on the application the thin film is being utilized for. In chemical process a liquid precursor goes through a chemical change on the surface of the material it is applied on.

This process is further divided thanks to the predecessor that is being used. One of the subdivisions is plating that utilises a liquid predecessor. Then there's the chemical solution deposition that uses a liquid predecessor that is made from a powder of organic metals that is melted in an organic solvent. This is AKA CSD. Another sub-division is chemical vapour deposition that is often known as CVD. This process uses a gas-phase predecessor.

The physical deposition method uses electromechanical, mechanical or thermodynamic process to provide a thin film covering. This method is further subdivided into different classes that differ from one another thanks to the process that is used. As an example the thermal evaporator uses an electric resistance heater that softens material and then uses the produced vapors. The sputtering process depends on plasma and applies a layer consisting of atoms. Other process that fall in physical deposition strategy are pulsed laser deposition, arc-PVD and electrohydrodynamic deposition.

Therefore, the applications of thin films are many is industries as they provide protection to materials even if spread nanometer thin.


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