Thin Films, Film Formation Techniques

Abstract

A thin film is a surface layer at most a few micrometers thick, having properties that differ from those of the bulk material or substrate on which the film is deposited. Thin‐film formation techniques are often called vapor deposition processes. A variety of techniques are available, which may be classified as either physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition, depending on the source of the vapor to be deposited. Physical vapor deposition processes are the largest‐volume techniques for thin‐film formation. To produce the vapor, vacuum technology, ion plating or atomic sputtering, plasmas, and magnetrons, alone or in some combination, may be used. Chemical vapor deposition involves a chemical reaction. The vapor may come from a gas, liquid, or solid. Electroplating and electroless plating are two chemical deposition techniques that do not involve vapors.