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New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments
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New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2026 | Viewed by 15684

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Peng Xiao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Intelligent Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Technology, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China
Interests: printed electronics; new photoelectric materials and devices; flexible supercapacitors
Dr. Baiquan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: OLED; PeLED; QD-LED; PLED; flexible electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

New techniques for preparing thin films is of great significance in electronic devices, including thin-film transistors, sensors, organic/quantum light-emitting diodes. Emerging concepts, strategies, and techniques can benefit thin-film preparation, the understanding of thin-film science, the optimization of film morphologies, the exploration of film interfaces, the innovation of device architectures, and the investigation of working mechanisms. Moreover, theoretical simulations provide new insights into the intrinsic properties of thin-film devices, and may introduce the potential of further unexplored applications.

This Special Issue, enttiled “New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments”, aims to present the recent developments in the field of advanced micro/nano electronics, including novel concepts, fundamental research, and theoretical results. The scope of this research topic also includes the preparation, characterization, and application of various thin films. We welcome original research, reviews, mini-reviews, and perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to, the following:

  • New preparation techniques for thin film technology, such as inkjet printing;
  • Optical and electrical characteristics of thin-film devices;
  • Film morphology;
  • Interfacial and surface physics;
  • Applications of thin films in various fields, particularly for thin-film transistors and organic/quantum light-emitting diodes;
  • Working mechanisms of optoelectronic devices;
  • Theoretical modeling;
  • Challenges in the development of electronic devices.

Dr. Peng Xiao
Dr. Baiquan Liu
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 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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • printed electronics
  • flexible electronics
  • photoelectric detection
  • thin-film transistors
  • organic light-emitting diodes
  • quantum light-emitting diodes

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2592 KB  
Article
Cerium-Doped ZnO Thin Films for Photocatalysts
by Pavlina Bancheva-Koleva, Stephan Kozhukharov, Christian Girginov, Ivo Banchev, Plamen Petkov, Tamara Petkova and Georgi Avdeev
Materials 2026, 19(9), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19091739 - 24 Apr 2026
Abstract
In this work, Ce-doped ZnO thin films at various contents of cerium were deposited on glass substrates by thermal vacuum evaporation to study the influence of Ce concentration on their optical, structural, morphological, and photocatalytic behavior. Pure ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO films doped [...] Read more.
In this work, Ce-doped ZnO thin films at various contents of cerium were deposited on glass substrates by thermal vacuum evaporation to study the influence of Ce concentration on their optical, structural, morphological, and photocatalytic behavior. Pure ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO films doped with 2% and 5% Ce were characterized by SEM, XRD, AFM, UV–VIS spectroscopy, and ellipsometry. The XRD analysis confirmed that all the films retained the hexagonal wurtzite structure, while Ce incorporation induced lattice strain and reduced crystallite size, particularly at higher doping levels. SEM and AFM studies showed that films with 2% Ce exhibited smaller grain size and lower roughness, whereas 5% Ce-doped films showed grain growth and increased roughness. Pure ZnO films displayed high transparency (>90%), whereas Ce incorporation caused a red shift in the absorption edge and narrowing of the optical band gap due to defect-related states and lattice distortion. Photocatalytic experiments revealed that Ce doping improved charge carrier separation and increased the number of oxygen vacancies. Among all samples, the 2% Ce-doped ZnO film demonstrated the highest photocatalytic efficiency. These findings highlight the importance of controlled Ce doping in tuning the microstructure, optical properties, and photocatalytic performance of ZnO thin films, making them suitable for environmental remediation and optoelectronic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
25 pages, 15648 KB  
Article
Tribo-Mechanical Properties of Nanomultilayer TiCN/ZrCN Coatings with Different Carbon Content
by Tetiana Cholakova, Lilyana Kolaklieva, Stefan Kolchev, Kiril Kirilov, Daniela Kovacheva, Evgenia Valcheva, Ekaterina Zlatareva, Christo Bahchedjiev, Roumen Kakanakov and Vasiliy Chitanov
Materials 2026, 19(7), 1316; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19071316 - 26 Mar 2026
Viewed by 350
Abstract
This work focuses on the study of tribo-mechanical and microstructural properties of TiCN/ZrCN multilayer coatings with a modulation period of 12 nm, obtained by a conventional cathodic arc technique. The coatings were deposited at a temperature of 320 °C using nitrogen and methane [...] Read more.
This work focuses on the study of tribo-mechanical and microstructural properties of TiCN/ZrCN multilayer coatings with a modulation period of 12 nm, obtained by a conventional cathodic arc technique. The coatings were deposited at a temperature of 320 °C using nitrogen and methane reactive gases (N2/CH4) mixture in three different proportions. Surface morphology, composition, hardness, adhesion, friction and wear behavior were studied using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and scratch and wear tests. The analysis of the coating composition revealed a strict dependence of the carbon content on the CH4 flow rate. It was found that the coatings with a carbon content of 14.6 at.% and 15.9 at.% consist of crystalline TiZr (C,N) with the presence of amorphous carbon. All the studied TiCN/ZrCN coatings showed improved tribo-mechanical properties compared to TiN/ZrN multilayers obtained under the same deposition conditions. The highest hardness of 40 GPa was obtained for the coating deposited at a N2/CH4 flow rate of 370/100 sccm. The lowest wear rate of 3.16 × 10−6 mm3/N·m under dry sliding conditions was observed in the multilayer coatings deposited at the N2/CH4 flow rates of 330/140 sccm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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12 pages, 2688 KB  
Communication
Growth and Characterization of n-Type Hexagonal Ta2O5:W Films on Sapphire Substrates by MOCVD
by Xiaochen Ma, Yuanheng Li, Xuan Liu, Deqiang Chen, Yong Le and Biao Zhang
Materials 2025, 18(13), 3073; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133073 - 28 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1136
Abstract
Tantalum oxide is a wide bandgap material commonly used as an insulating dielectric layer for devices. In this work, hexagonal Ta2O5 (δ-Ta2O5) films doped with tungsten (W) were deposited on α-Al2O [...] Read more.
Tantalum oxide is a wide bandgap material commonly used as an insulating dielectric layer for devices. In this work, hexagonal Ta2O5 (δ-Ta2O5) films doped with tungsten (W) were deposited on α-Al2O3 (0001) by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The effects of W doping on the structural, morphology, and photoelectrical properties of the obtained films were studied. The results showed that all W-doped films were n-type semiconductors. The XRD measurement result exhibited that the increase in the W doping concentration leads to the changes in the preferred growth crystal plane of the films from δ-Ta2O5 (101¯1) to (0001). The 1.5% W-doped film possessed the best crystal quality and conductivity. The Hall measurement showed that the minimum resistivity of the film was 2.68 × 104 Ω∙cm, and the maximum carrier concentration was 7.39 × 1014 cm3. With the increase in the W concentration, the surface roughness of the film increases, while the optical bandgap decreases. The optical band gap of the 1.5% W-doped film was 3.92 eV. The W doping mechanisms were discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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9 pages, 4243 KB  
Article
Phase Evolution in Mn1.6Zn0.2Ni0.6Mg0.2Al0.4O4 High-Entropy Oxide Films by Heat Treatment
by Wei Ren, Xianhai Liu, Wenting Wu and Weili Wang
Materials 2024, 17(23), 5967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235967 - 5 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1172
Abstract
In this work, Mn-Zn-Ni-Mg-Al multi-layer films were annealed in air at different temperatures to form spinel-structured Mn1.6Zn0.2Ni0.6Mg0.2Al0.4O4 high-entropy oxide films. X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that the films possess a polycrystalline spinel phase [...] Read more.
In this work, Mn-Zn-Ni-Mg-Al multi-layer films were annealed in air at different temperatures to form spinel-structured Mn1.6Zn0.2Ni0.6Mg0.2Al0.4O4 high-entropy oxide films. X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that the films possess a polycrystalline spinel phase as well as impurity phases: when annealed at 650 °C and 750 °C, MnO2 and Al2O3 impurity phases exist; at 950 °C, an Al2O3 impurity phase exists. Only at 850 °C does a pure spinel phase exist. However, the film at 750 °C exhibits the best conductive behavior, which indicates that the impurity phases may not have to be removed to maintain the best electrical properties of the film. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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Review

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28 pages, 2430 KB  
Review
Selected Deposition Techniques and the Effect of Doping on the Properties of Thin ZnO Films: A Literature Review
by Jakub Polis, Krzysztof Lukaszkowicz, Marek Szindler, Gabriela Wielgus and Julia Kolasa
Materials 2026, 19(9), 1686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19091686 - 22 Apr 2026
Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is currently one of the most significant wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, attracting extensive research across diverse fields including materials science, chemistry, physics, medicine, electronics, and power engineering. Its exceptional properties, such as high optical transparency, high electron mobility, chemical stability, and [...] Read more.
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is currently one of the most significant wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, attracting extensive research across diverse fields including materials science, chemistry, physics, medicine, electronics, and power engineering. Its exceptional properties, such as high optical transparency, high electron mobility, chemical stability, and compatibility with low-cost fabrication techniques, have established ZnO as a versatile material with immense application potential. A critical application for ZnO is its role as a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) in modern optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, as well as in sensors, transparent electronics, and spintronics. To meet the requirements of these advanced applications, precise control over the structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO thin films is essential. This is effectively achieved through the selection of specific synthesis methods and intentional modification techniques, such as doping. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and modification of ZnO thin films, with a particular focus on how various dopants influence their fundamental characteristics. The work discusses a range of deposition techniques, including physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), sol–gel methods, spray pyrolysis, and other solution-based approaches. The novelty of this review lies in its comparative analysis of different doping strategies combined with various thin-film deposition techniques, highlighting how specific synthesis routes influence dopant incorporation and ultimately determine functional properties. Furthermore, recent advances in tailoring ZnO thin films are summarized, alongside the identification of key challenges and future research directions. Ultimately, this work aims to provide researchers with a systematic perspective on the synthesis–structure–property relationships in doped ZnO thin films to support the development of optimized materials for next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. This review, thus, serves as a comprehensive reference for researchers and engineers seeking to optimize the functionality of ZnO-based thin films for emerging technological applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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61 pages, 12222 KB  
Review
Thin-Film Encapsulation for OLEDs and Its Advances: Toward Engineering
by Songju Li, Linfeng Lan, Min Li, Zhuo Gao, Xiaolin Yan, Dong Fu and Xianwen Sun
Materials 2025, 18(13), 3175; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133175 - 4 Jul 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7820
Abstract
Thin-film encapsulation has been a critical method to realize small-size OLED displays. However, the manufacturing of large-size flexible OLED is still in the preparatory phase prior to commercialization, which entails more rigorous demands for reliability and flexibility with regard to thin-film encapsulation. This [...] Read more.
Thin-film encapsulation has been a critical method to realize small-size OLED displays. However, the manufacturing of large-size flexible OLED is still in the preparatory phase prior to commercialization, which entails more rigorous demands for reliability and flexibility with regard to thin-film encapsulation. This review, from the perspective of engineering for mass production, addresses the development of thin-film encapsulation and its three core properties for comprehensive validation while engineering, including basic properties, reliability, and compatibility. Moreover, considering the prospective evolution of display products, the review on novel thin-film encapsulation was conducted to evaluate the potential engineering value for thinning, ultra-flexibility, multifunctionality, novel equipment, and emerging technology. It is anticipated that some of the aforementioned technologies may prove to be of significant engineering value. It is therefore hoped that by comprehensive engineering verification, the commercial application of novel thin-film encapsulation can be promoted and the competitiveness of OLED products can be effectively enhanced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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48 pages, 6397 KB  
Review
Advancements in Electrochromic Technology for Multifunctional Flexible Devices
by Alice Marciel, Joel Borges, Luiz Pereira, Rui F. Silva and Manuel Graça
Materials 2025, 18(13), 2964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18132964 - 23 Jun 2025
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4462
Abstract
The design and investigation of electrochromic devices have advanced significantly, including distinct applications such as self-charged smart windows, aerospace interactive windows, low power flexible and ecofriendly displays, automatic dimming rearview, wearable smart textiles, military and civilian camouflage systems, electrochromic sensors, among others. Although [...] Read more.
The design and investigation of electrochromic devices have advanced significantly, including distinct applications such as self-charged smart windows, aerospace interactive windows, low power flexible and ecofriendly displays, automatic dimming rearview, wearable smart textiles, military and civilian camouflage systems, electrochromic sensors, among others. Although significant progress has been made in related fields, achieving the full potential of electrochromic devices to meet the standards of maturity and practical applications remains a persistent challenge. Electrochromic devices are typically multilayered structures that can be designed as either rigid or flexible systems, depending on the type of substrate employed. Conventional electrochromic devices comprise layered structures that include transparent electrodes, electrochromic materials, ionic conductors, and ion storage materials. On the other hand, multifunctional systems integrate bifunctional materials or distinct functional layers to simultaneously achieve optical modulation and additional capabilities such as energy storage. The development of advanced materials, comprehensive electrochemical kinetic analysis, the optimization and advancement of process techniques and deposition methods, and innovative device designs are active areas of extensive global research. This review focuses on the recent advances in multifunctional electrochromic materials and devices with particular emphasis on the integration of electrochromic technology with other functional technologies. It further identifies current challenges, proposes potential solutions, and outlines future research directions focused on advancing this technology in both niche and scalable applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Techniques for Preparing Thin Films: Characteristics and Further Developments)
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