High-entropy amorphous NbTiAlSiW x N y films (x = 0 or 1, i.e., NbTiAlSiN y and NbTiAlSiWN y ) were prepared by magnetron sputtering method in the atmosphere of a mixture of N 2 + Ar (N 2 + Ar = 24 standard cubic centimeter per minute (sccm)), where N 2 = 0, 4, and 8 sccm). All the as-deposited films present amorphous structures, which remain stable at 700˝C for over 24 h. After heat treatment at 1000˝C the films began to crystalize, and while the NbTiAlSiN y films (N 2 = 4, 8 sccm) exhibit a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, the NbTiAlSiW metallic films show a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure and then transit into a FCC structure composed of nanoscaled particles with increasing nitrogen flow rate. The hardness and modulus of the as-deposited NbTiAlSiN y films reach maximum values of 20.5 GPa and 206.8 GPa, respectively. For the as-deposited NbTiAlSiWN y films, both modulus and hardness increased to maximum values of 13.6 GPa and 154.4 GPa, respectively, and then decrease as the N 2 flow rate is increased. Both films could be potential candidates for protective coatings at high temperature.

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Recently, humidity sensors have been investigated extensively due to their broad applications in chip fabrication, health care, agriculture, amongst others. We propose a capacitive humidity sensor with a shielding electrode under the interdigitated electrode (SIDE) based on polyimide (PI). Thanks to the shielding electrode, this humidity sensor combines the high sensitivity of parallel plate capacitive sensors and the fast response of interdigitated electrode capacitive sensors. We use COMSOL Multiphysics to design and optimize the SIDE structure. The experimental data show very good agreement with the simulation. The sensitivity of the SIDE sensor is 0.0063% ± 0.0002% RH. Its response/recovery time is 20 s/22 s. The maximum capacitance drift under different relative humidity is 1.28% RH.