Thin Films: Materials, Fabrication Techniques, and Applications
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 May 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editors
Interests: material science; polymers; nanomaterials; surface engineering; thin films; coatings; optics; optoelectronics; photovoltaics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: material science; polymers; nanomaterials; surface engineering; thin films; coatings; optics; optoelectronics; photovoltaics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue of Coatings focuses on recent progress regarding material science, fabrication techniques, and diverse applications of thin films and coatings. Thin films play a vital role in modern technology, enabling advanced functionalities across a wide range of sectors such as energy, optoelectronics, photonics, biomedicine, and aerospace.
We aim to highlight state-of-the-art deposition techniques—including Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), and sol–gel methods—which offer unique capabilities for engineering thin films with tailored properties, nanoscale precision, and excellent uniformity even on complex surfaces. Additionally, solution-based approaches such as spin coating, dip coating, and spray coating continue to provide versatile, scalable routes for functional coatings and nanostructures.
By combining different deposition techniques and material systems, researchers are developing hybrid and multifunctional thin films with enhanced performance for applications in renewable energy (e.g., photovoltaics and fuel cells), optoelectronics, sensors, catalysis, and biomedical devices. This Special Issue welcomes contributions addressing new materials, innovative fabrication processes, structure–property–function relationships, and emerging applications of thin films and coatings.
Potential topics of interest include the following:
- Novel materials for thin films and coatings.
- Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of functional thin films and nanostructures.
- Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques: sputtering, evaporation, and hybrid processes.
- Plasma-enhanced and thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD).
- Sol–gel processing of thin films and hybrid materials.
- Methods and applications of spin, dip, and spray coatings.
- Hybrid and multilayer thin-film systems.
- Thin films on complex, 3D, or porous substrates.
- Thin films for optics, photonics, and optoelectronic.
- Coatings for renewable energy: photovoltaics, batteries, and fuel cells.
- Thin films in biomedical and bioengineering applications.
- Nanostructured coatings for catalysis, sensors, and surface engineering.
- Advanced characterization and modeling of thin films.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Marek Szindler
Dr. Magdalena M. Szindler
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 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.
Keywords
- thin films
- vacuum deposition
- sol–gel coatings
- functional nanostructures
- hybrid thin films
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