Advanced Optical Films and Coatings

Dear Colleagues,

Optical films and coatings are an essential part of any optical system. They are used to tailor the optical and non-optical properties of surfaces. Thereby, accurate knowledge of material properties is essential, and so is the subject of optical coatings’ characterization. Typically, single-layer coatings on a transparent substrate are used for characterizations. For advanced coatings, more complex systems are often required for a reliable characterization of underlying building blocks.

When designing optical coatings, the geometric arrangement of materials is determined based on the known optical constants. For conventional coatings, layer thicknesses and their sequences and numbers are determined. With layers build from mixed materials, the possible variety of parameters (e.g., volume fill factor and the shape and size of the inclusions) is greater and can be spatially varied. Therefore, the design process of such advanced coatings is more demanding.

This Collection, titled “Advanced Optical Films and Coatings”, welcomes research papers focusing on the design and characterization of all types of thin films with optical application backgrounds in spectral ranges, from the microwave to the vacuum ultraviolet spectrum. Authors are particularly encouraged to submit papers on the following areas:

• Coating characterization.
• Coating design and computational manufacturing.
• Pure materials and mixtures of oxides, fluorides, metals, or semiconductors.
• Micro- and nanostructured coatings.
• Non-linear properties.

Dr. Steffen Wilbrandt
Collection Editor

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.