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Crystals
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Advances in Thin-Film Materials and Their Applications
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Advances in Thin-Film Materials and Their Applications

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Inorganic Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 2474

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abdellatif El-Habib

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tangier, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier BP 416, Morocco
Interests: thin-film materials; advanced characterization techniques; electrochemical device applications; optoelectronics; simulations
Dr. Abdessamad Aouni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tangier, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier BP 416, Morocco
Interests: crystallization; material characterization; thin films; structural optical and electrochemical properties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thin-film materials have become increasingly significant in modern science and technology, demonstrating unique structural, chemical, electrical, optical, and mechanical properties compared to their bulky counterparts. They play vital roles in a wide range of fields, including electronics, photonics, energy conversion and storage, sensor technology, surface engineering, and biomedicine. For instance, in electronics, thin films are essential for creating high-performance integrated circuits and flexible electronic devices. In energy applications, they are crucial for enhancing the efficiency of solar cells and batteries. In sensor technology, thin films enable the development of highly sensitive and selective sensors. Furthermore, thin films have shown great potential in emerging areas such as optoelectronics, flexible electronics, and biomedicine.

Potential topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Thin film synthesis and growth: Research on advanced techniques, such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and sol–gel methods.
  • Thin film characterization: Studies on the structural, optical, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties of thin films, including high-resolution diffraction techniques and other advanced characterization methods.
  • Thin film applications: Explorations of thin-film materials in electronics, photonics, energy conversion and storage, sensor technology, surface engineering, and biomedicine.
  • Thin film interfacial phenomena: Investigations into the interfacial effects, defects, and stability in thin films.
  • Thin film modeling and simulation: Theoretical and computational modeling of thin film growth, properties, and applications.

Dr. Abdellatif El-Habib
Dr. Abdessamad Aouni
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. Crystals 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 2100 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-film materials
  • coatings
  • synthesis and growth
  • interfacial phenomena

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 8210 KB  
Article
Structural and Magnetic Properties of Sputtered Chromium-Doped Sb2Te3 Thin Films
by Joshua Bibby, Angadjit Singh, Emily Heppell, Jack Bollard, Barat Achinuq, Julio Alves do Nascimento, Connor Murrill, Vlado K. Lazarov, Gerrit van der Laan and Thorsten Hesjedal
Crystals 2025, 15(10), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15100896 - 16 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Magnetron sputtering offers a scalable route to magnetic topological insulators (MTIs) based on Cr-doped Sb2Te3. We combine a range of X-ray diffraction (XRD), reciprocal-space mapping (RSM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning TEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS), and X-ray absorption [...] Read more.
Magnetron sputtering offers a scalable route to magnetic topological insulators (MTIs) based on Cr-doped Sb2Te3. We combine a range of X-ray diffraction (XRD), reciprocal-space mapping (RSM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning TEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XAS/XMCD) techniques to study the structure and magnetism of Cr-doped Sb2Te3 films. Symmetric θ-2θ XRD and RSM establish a solubility window. Layered tetradymite order persists up to ∼10 at.-% Cr, while higher doping yields CrTe/Cr2Te3 secondary phases. STEM reveals nanocrystalline layered stacking at low Cr and loss of long-range layering at higher Cr concentrations, consistent with XRD/RSM. Magnetometry on a 6% film shows soft ferromagnetism at 5 K. XAS and XMCD at the Cr L2,3 edges exhibits a depth dependence: total electron yield (TE; surface sensitive) shows both nominal Cr2+ and Cr3+, whereas fluorescence yield (FY; bulk sensitive) shows a much higher Cr2+ weight. Sum rules applied to TEY give mL=(0.20±0.04) μB/Cr, and mS=(1.6±0.2) μB/Cr, whereby we note that the applied maximum field (3 T) likely underestimates mS. These results define a practical growth window and outline key parameters for MTI films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin-Film Materials and Their Applications)
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17 pages, 5692 KB  
Article
Investigating the Influence of Cerium Doping on the Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of ZnCexCo2−xO4 Zinc Cobaltite Thin Films
by Abdellatif El-Habib, Mohamed Oubakalla, Samir Haloui, Youssef Nejmi, Mohamed El Bouji, Amal Yousfi, Fouad El Mansouri, Abdessamad Aouni, Mustapha Diani and Mohammed Addou
Crystals 2025, 15(8), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15080742 - 20 Aug 2025
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Abstract
Cerium-doped zinc cobaltite spinel thin films, ZnCexCo2−xO4 (0.00≤x≤0.05), were synthesized via spray pyrolysis, and their structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties were analyzed. X-ray [...] Read more.
Cerium-doped zinc cobaltite spinel thin films, ZnCexCo2−xO4 (0.00≤x≤0.05), were synthesized via spray pyrolysis, and their structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties were analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed a cubic spinel structure with a predominant (311) orientation across all compositions. Raman spectroscopy further verified this phase, revealing four active vibrational modes at 180 cm−1, 470 cm−1, 515 cm−1, and 682 cm−1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated a uniform grain distribution, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the presence of Ce, Zn, Co, and O. Optical measurements revealed two distinct bandgaps, decreasing from 2.32 eV to 2.20 eV for the lower-energy transition and from 3.38 eV to 3.18 eV for the higher-energy transition. Hall effect measurements confirmed p-type conductivity in all films. Electrical analysis showed a reduction in resistivity, from 280.3 Ω·cm to 15.4 Ω·cm, along with an increase in carrier concentration from 1.15 × 1016 cm−3 to 8.15 × 1017 cm−3 with higher Ce content. These results demonstrate that spray pyrolysis is a cost-effective and scalable method for producing Ce-doped ZnCo2O4 thin films with tunable properties, making them suitable for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin-Film Materials and Their Applications)
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11 pages, 3461 KB  
Article
Magnetotransport Measurements in Overdoped Mn:Bi2Te3 Thin Films
by Angadjit Singh, Varun S. Kamboj, Crispin H. W. Barnes and Thorsten Hesjedal
Crystals 2025, 15(6), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15060557 - 11 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1045
Abstract
Introducing magnetic dopants into topological insulators (TIs) provides a pathway to realizing novel quantum phenomena, including the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and axionic states. One of the most commonly used 3d transition metal dopants is Mn, despite its known tendency to [...] Read more.
Introducing magnetic dopants into topological insulators (TIs) provides a pathway to realizing novel quantum phenomena, including the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and axionic states. One of the most commonly used 3d transition metal dopants is Mn, despite its known tendency to be highly mobile and to cause phase segregation. In this study, we present a detailed magnetotransport investigation of Mn-overdoped Bi2Te3 thin films using field-effect transistor architectures. Building on our previous structural investigations of these samples, we examine how high Mn content influences their electronic transport properties. From our earlier studies, we know that high Mn doping concentrations lead to the formation of secondary phases, which significantly alter weak antilocalization behavior and suppress topological surface transport. To probe the gate response of these doped films over extended areas, we fabricate field-effect transistor structures, and we observe uniform electrostatic control of conduction across the magnetic phase. Inspired by recent developments in intrinsic topological systems such as the MnTe-Bi2Te3 septuple-layer compounds, we explore the influence of embedded ferromagnetic chalcogenide inclusions as an alternative route to engineer magnetic topological states and potentially expand the operational temperature range of QAHE-enabled devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin-Film Materials and Their Applications)
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