Advances in Deposition Technologies for Thin Films and Coatings
A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026 | Viewed by 178
Special Issue Editors
Interests: thin film and coating deposition technologies; magnetron sputtering and spray pyrolysis; functional thin films; semiconductor-based functional materials (TiO2, ZnO, In2S3, perovskite thin films, ...); advanced coating characterization; photocatalysis, antibacterial and protective coatings; renewable energy materials; sustainable materials innovation; optoelectronic materials; advanced applications
Interests: PVD deposition techniques; metal-oxide thin films; protective coatings
Interests: photocatalysis; metal-oxide thin films; PVD deposition techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue entitled “Advances in Deposition Technologies for Thin Films and Coatings”, to be published in the journal Coatings.
Thin films and coatings are key enabling elements of modern technologies and functional surfaces. Over recent decades their development has been strongly driven by continuous advances in deposition technologies, which allow increasingly precise control over composition, microstructure, thickness, and functional performance. Such capabilities are essential to meet the growing demands of applications spanning energy and electronics, protective and tribological systems, optoelectronics, biomedical devices, and environmental technologies.
Researchers and engineers in materials science, physics, chemistry, nanotechnology, and surface engineering are actively developing and refining deposition techniques to design coatings with enhanced optical, electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. In this context, further progress in deposition processes, process optimization, and a deeper understanding of process-structure-property-performance relationships remain of major scientific and technological importance.
This Special Issue aims to provide a forum for recent advances in the deposition, synthesis, and processing of thins films and coatings, as well as surface modification and functionalization strategies. Contributions addressing both fundamental aspects and applied research, including industrially relevant challenges such as scalability, sustainability, and low-temperature processing, are particularly welcome.
Topics of interest included, but is not limited to:
- Physical vapor deposition techniques (PVD), including magnetron sputtering, ion beam deposition (IBD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), thermal evaporation, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
- Chemical vapor deposition techniques (CVD, PECVD)
- Atomic layer deposition (ALD)
- Spray-based deposition methods
- Sol–gel and solution-processed thin films
- Advanced coating architectures (multilayer, nanocomposite, graded coatings)
- Surface modification and functional coatings
- Structure–property–performance relationships of thin films and coatings
- Sustainable, low-temperature, and scalable deposition technologies
Both original research articles and high-quality review papers are welcome.
We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions and to assembling a high-quality and impactful Special Issue.
Sincerely,
Dr. Belgacem Tiss
Dr. Luis Cunha
Dr. Carlos Jose Macedo Tavares
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
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.
Keywords
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Thin-film deposition
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Coating technologies
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Physical and chemical vapor deposition
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Functional and protective coatings
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Surface Engineering
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