Functional Nanofilms: From Fundamentals to Applications

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to submit your work to this Special Issue on "Functional Nanofilms: From Fundamentals to Applications".

The term “functional materials” appeared in recent decades as a result of the development of new approaches to the production of materials that are required to possess “functions”—that is, measurable physicochemical parameters that change due to external influence, especially when an external load is of extremely wide dynamic range.

Functional materials can be defined as materials whose response to external influence is described by a well-known, single function of specific exposure parameters.

This approach provides benefits for the design and physical implementation of very complicated technical systems that operate in extreme conditions with maximum stability of their characteristics. The transition from three-dimensional systems to quasi-two-dimensional (thin films) is accompanied by significant changes in the physicochemical properties of the materials, including thermodynamic parameters.

The microstructure of thin films differs significantly from the structure of bulk materials of the same composition, and the properties of thin films are largely determined by their morphology. This makes functional thin-film materials even more promising and “tunable” than the “bulk” functional materials.

An essential feature of a thin nanoscale film is a large surface-to-volume ratio. The surface morphology and structure of thin-film materials determine many parameters, such as the dielectric constant, magnetic permeability and anisotropy, electrical conductivity, electrical and mechanical strength, adhesion properties, chemical activity, and corrosion resistance.

Correct monitoring of nanoscale parameters is a free-standing challenging task. For example, surface roughness is a common critical parameter, but in modern technology, it varies in a range from picometers to microns. The basis for modern nanotechnology is not just the production of nanostructured and nanoscale objects, but the precise manufacturing of specific “size and shape” required for the nanodesigns. Hence, necessary components of modern nanotechnology are measurement techniques such as electron, ion, and X-ray spectroscopy; probe, electron, and ion microscopy; ellipsometry; and IR spectroscopy. Moreover, methods of mathematical statistics recently started to play a significant role in nanotechnology, as they estimate connections between the measurable parameters of thin films, technology of thin-film preparation and “functioning” of functional nanofilms.

The Editors of the journal and the Special Issue will be glad to consider proposed publications in all areas related to new approaches in the formation of thin films and functional nanomaterials with desired properties, their research, and their applications.

In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Sensor development based on nanofilm functional materials;
• Nanofilms for plasmonic applications;
• Fundamental aspects of nanofilm features;
• Thin-film magnetic systems;
• Technological aspects of creating and managing the properties of nanofilms;
• Microdevices based on controlled electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of nanofilms;
• Newest nanostructured thin-film material applications;
• Overcoming challenges in controlled nanostructured material fabrication;
• Composite and nanocomposite films;
• Optical coatings;
• Protective coatings (chemical or environmental).

Prof. Dr. Ilya A. Ryzhikov
Dr. Irina Boginskaya
Guest Editors

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