The Microstructures and Advanced Functional Properties of Thin Films

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the rapid development of highly integrated microelectronics and optoelectronic devices over the past several years, the demand and properties required for functional thin films for use in related fields have gradually increased, such as transparent conductive films, heat dissipation films, electromagnetic shielding films, optical films, and so on. Owing to its high efficiency and controllability, vapor deposition, including chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition, has been a major technology used for the synthesis of thin films. During the deposition process, the kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of atoms effectively influence the microstructures of the films, such as grain size, grain orientation, surface roughness, component distribution, and so on. The intrinsic properties and internal microstructures of thin film materials directly determine their functional performance. Therefore, the unique design of materials and the relationship between the deposition process and the microstructure and functional performance of the thin films are fundamental to promoting the development of advanced functional thin films and their relative applications in the future.

This Special Issue invites the submission of original research or review articles focused on the use of advanced functional thin films within the optical, thermal, and electrical fields. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the growth and fabrication of thin films through vapor deposition, the microstructure and unique design strategies employed, and the advanced functional properties exhibited by these thin films.

Dr. Yue Liu
Prof. Dr. Jian Wang
Guest Editors

Dr. Jiamiao Ni
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• deposition
• microstructure
• electrical properties
• thermal properties
• optical properties
• thin film growth
• functional thin film applications