Dear Colleagues,

Plasma, as a high energy environment and distinct state of matter where elementary atomic or molecular processes can be controlled or tuned, represents a top technological solution for many applications. Among the variety of industrial and laboratory approaches that use plasma as a key element of fabrication, thin films obtained by plasma processing can be recognized. They are used as high performance coatings for quantum processes, optics, electricity and magnetism, energy conversion and storage, life sciences, protection, and tribology. The methods employed to deposit thin films using plasma processes are diverse, covering a broad range from cutting edge technologies, such as atomic layer deposition and molecular beam epitaxy, to widely available technologies, such us pulsed laser deposition, enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and sputtering techniques. The performance of plasma coatings and plasma polymers are intrinsically linked to the control of plasma processes as well as to the advanced knowledge of plasma parameters. In this sense, new experimental and theoretical observations on plasma processes, especially in pulsed plasmas, relevant for thin films formation are important.

This Special Issue will serve as a forum for papers considering the following concepts:

• Plasma thin films physics and chemistry and transition towards industrial applications;
• Design and diagnosis of plasma sources for deposition and polymerization;
• Experimental studies on the polymerization and growth mechanisms in pulsed plasmas;
• Growth process modelling and plasma chemistry simulation;
• New insights on relationships between operational parameters, plasma parameters, and thin films properties;
• New observations on the use and performance of plasma thin films in life sciences, textile industry, extreme environments, energy production, quantum technologies, micro and nanoelectronics, and corrosion and wear protection.

Dr. Ionut Topala
Guest 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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

• growth mechanisms and plasma processing
• plasma sources for deposition and polymerization
• advanced diagnosis of plasmas for thin films formation
• plasma coatings and polymers
• performance of plasma thin films in real applications