Structure and Phase Transformations in Thin Films

Dear Colleagues,

The field of thin films has gone through a great development in past decades. Besides multiple application of thin films, an increasing competence can be observed in tayloring film microstructure by composition and deposition parameters. The first approach led to the development of, e.g., multicomponent carbide, nitride and oxynitride hard coatings, and superalloys, and has attracted interest recently towards high-entropy alloys (HEA). The latter approach resulted in significant improvement of deposition techniques where energetic surface bombardment influenced surface mobility and formed bonding at the growth surface. Revealing the microstucture is inevitable to understand how defects, ordering of atoms within the crystalline unit cell, or the formation of multiple phases and their arrangement influence the performance of coatings on the macroscopic scale. Structural features on the nanoscale may also provide excellent properties to novel nanocomposites and special nanolaminated structures like, e.g., MAX phases.

Submissions regarding deposition, characterization, and properties of coatings are welcomed in this Issue.

Dr. Zsolt Czigány
Guest Editor

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