Manufacturing and Application of Advanced Thin-Film-Based Device

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "A:Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2324

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, NEMS Institute, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
Interests: piezoelectric film materials; electroactive polymers; microfabrication; sensor; microactuator; ultrasonic transducer; intelligent machine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced devices benefit from thin-film technology, which is an intriguing topic in modern science and cutting-edge industry. Thin film refers to a thin layer of materials that ranges in thickness from several nanometers to a few micrometers, usually deposited on a substrate to provide spectacular functionality. Physical and chemical depositions have been used to produce high-quality films. Evaporation, sputtering, dip/spray coating, chemical vapor deposition, electro/electroless plating, chemical bath deposition, and the sol-gel technique are all effective methods for producing cutting-edge thin films. Advanced thin film devices exhibit vital applications such as transistors, integrated circuits, telecommunications devices, and energy devices in microelectronics. Lenses can also have coatings to enhance their transmission, refraction, and reflection optical qualities. Magnetic thin films are vital for data storage. Solar cells, photoconductors, and LEDs are key optoelectronic thin-film devices. Thin-film coatings also increase implant biocompatibility and give medical devices unique properties. Flexible substrates with functional thin film that can bend, fold, and roll are ideal for wearable gadgets and foldable displays. Accordingly, the purpose of this Special Issue is to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles on novel developments in advanced thin-film devices, including but not limited to manufacturing strategies, thin film analysis, device characterization, and application performance.

Prof. Dr. Guo-Hua Feng
Guest Editor

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. Micromachines 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

  • film manufacturing
  • film characterization
  • functionalized film
  • thin-film device
  • advance device application
  • micromachining process

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 3565 KiB  
Article
pH Measurements Using Leaky Waveguides with Synthetic Hydrogel Films
by Victoria Wensley, Nicholas J. Goddard and Ruchi Gupta
Micromachines 2025, 16(2), 216; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16020216 - 14 Feb 2025
Viewed by 576
Abstract
Leaky waveguides (LWs) are low-refractive-index films deposited on glass substrates. In these, light can travel in the film while leaking out at the film–substrate interface. The angle at which light can travel in the film is dependent on its refractive index and thickness, [...] Read more.
Leaky waveguides (LWs) are low-refractive-index films deposited on glass substrates. In these, light can travel in the film while leaking out at the film–substrate interface. The angle at which light can travel in the film is dependent on its refractive index and thickness, which can change with pH when the film is made of pH-responsive materials. Herein, we report an LW comprising a waveguide film made of a synthetic hydrogel containing the monomers acrylamide and N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide (DMA) and a bisacrylamide crosslinker for pH measurements between 4 and 8. The response of the LW pH sensor was reversible and the response times were 0.90 ± 0.14 and 2.38 ± 0.22 min when pH was changed from low to high and high to low, respectively. The reported LW pH sensor was largely insensitive to typical concentrations of common interferents, including sodium chloride, urea, aluminum sulfate, calcium chloride, and humic acid. Compared to a glass pH electrode, the measurement range is smaller but is close to the range required for monitoring the pH of drinking water. The pH resolution of the hydrogel sensor was ~0.004, compared to ~0.01 for the glass electrode. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing and Application of Advanced Thin-Film-Based Device)
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 11690 KiB  
Article
Improving TFT Device Performance by Changing the Thickness of the LZTO/ZTO Dual Active Layer
by Liang Guo, Suhao Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Chao Wang, Yaodan Chi and Xiaotian Yang
Micromachines 2024, 15(10), 1235; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15101235 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1310
Abstract
The primary objective of this research paper is to explore strategies for enhancing the electrical performance of dual active layer thin film transistors (TFTs) utilizing LZTO/ZTO as the bilayer architecture. By systematically adjusting the thickness of the active layers, we achieved significant improvements [...] Read more.
The primary objective of this research paper is to explore strategies for enhancing the electrical performance of dual active layer thin film transistors (TFTs) utilizing LZTO/ZTO as the bilayer architecture. By systematically adjusting the thickness of the active layers, we achieved significant improvements in the performance of the LZTO/ZTO TFTs. An XPS analysis was performed to elucidate the impact of the varying O2 element distribution ratio within the LZTO/ZTO bilayer thin film on the TFTs performance, which was directly influenced by the modification in the active layer thickness. Furthermore, we utilized atomic force microscopy to analyze the effect of altering the active layer thickness on the surface roughness of the LZTO/ZTO bilayer film and the impact of this roughness on the TFTs electrical performance. Through the optimization of the ZTO active layer thickness, the LZTO/ZTO TFT exhibited an mobility of 10.26 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a switching current ratio of 5.7 × 107, thus highlighting the effectiveness of our approach in enhancing the electrical characteristics of the TFT device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing and Application of Advanced Thin-Film-Based Device)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop