Dear colleagues,

The surface is the first region of any material and subject which physically acts together with the environment. Changing the surface properties can alter material interaction and response essentially. Thin films can grow on surfaces naturally or be deposited by several methods, like for example physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sol-gel-techniques, wet chemical deposition or electrochemical reactions. Usually, the thickness of a thin film is below 50 μm. Even friction of a counterbody or thermal spraying can lead to a thin film. There are several reasons for deposition of thin films, like increasing the hardness and wear resistance or changing the friction, catalytic, or optic effects. The selected thin film material may send signals to cells or microorganisms. A special thin film material can act as a stimulant for bacteria growth, which may be useful for biomass decompostion. Other thin film materials can prevent inflammation due to antiseptic effect. All of these properties can be further changed by patterning the thin films additionally. Dimples, grooves, and micro-hills of different dimensions change the interaction not only with lubricants and fluids, but the reflection and adsorption of irradiation or adhesion of additives, molecules, and microorganisms.

In this Special Issue, attention is placed to surface patterning of thin films for different applications, like the following:

• Tools and machining of materials
• Surfaces of buildings and architectural elements
• Biomaterials and implants
• Optical materials
• Electronic materials
• Solar collectors
• Surfaces in production machines
• Surfaces in cars and vehicles

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. 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.

• thin films
• μ-patterning
• laser treatment
• sceen printing
• template techniques
• wire eroding
• micro-mechanic surface treatments