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Materials
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Nanostructural Thin Films: Microstructure and Optical Properties
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Nanostructural Thin Films: Microstructure and Optical Properties

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2022) | Viewed by 5949

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Lukasz Skowronski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mathematics and Physics, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: material characterization; thin film deposition; thin films and nanotechnology; X-ray diffraction; microstructure; nanomaterials; SEM analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing conditions affect significantly the optical properties of thin films. In recent years, new methods of fabrication of thin films have been developed, and classical methods have been modified; however, traditional techniques are still used to produce high-quality layers. Moreover, post-deposition processing (e.g., annealing–vacuum/inert gas conditions, oxidation, chemical treatment) can provide new functionalities to the produced layers. Therefore, it is important to recognize the relationships between the different synthesis methods and the optical properties of the produced systems.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the results of recent works on the relationship between growth conditions (or, in general, methods of synthesis) and possibly post-deposition modification of the produced films and (mostly) optical properties of the resulting layers, as well as their microstructure.

Papers on single inorganic and organic films as well as multi-layer systems are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Lukasz Skowronski
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. 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

  • thin-film growth
  • functional coatings
  • characterization
  • micro-structure
  • optical properties

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 7560 KiB  
Article
Improving the p-Type CuCrO2 Thin Film’s Electrical and Optical Properties
by Jiaxin Jiang, Yu-Feng You, Dhanapal Vasu, Sheng-Chi Chen, Te-Wei Chiu, Gopi Prashanth and Po Chou Chen
Materials 2023, 16(3), 1000; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031000 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2267
Abstract
In this research, we studied the functional properties of CuCrO2, which is the most promising p-type transparent conductive oxide (TCO). The thin films were fabricated using a spin coating technique. The diffraction patterns were obtained with the help of X-ray diffractions, [...] Read more.
In this research, we studied the functional properties of CuCrO2, which is the most promising p-type transparent conductive oxide (TCO). The thin films were fabricated using a spin coating technique. The diffraction patterns were obtained with the help of X-ray diffractions, and the optical properties of absorption characteristics were studied using UV-visible absorption. The physical properties of film formation and surface morphology were analyzed using FESEM analysis. The aging properties were also analyzed with the help of various precursors with different aging times. The CuCrO2 thin films’ functional properties were determined by using chelating agent and precursor solution aging times. The CuCrO2 thin films have better transmittance, resistance, figure of merit (FOM), and electrical conductivity. Moreover, the resistivity values of the CuCrO2 thin films are 7.01, 9.90, 12.54, 4.10, 2.42, and 0.35 Ω cm. The current research article covers the preparation of copper chromium delafossite thin films. These thin films can be suitable for hole transport layers in transparent optoelectronic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructural Thin Films: Microstructure and Optical Properties)
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13 pages, 2232 KiB  
Article
High Seebeck Coefficient from Screen-Printed Colloidal PbSe Nanocrystals Thin Film
by Viviana Sousa, Guillaume Savelli, Oleg I. Lebedev, Kirill Kovnir, José H. Correia, Eliana M. F. Vieira, Pedro Alpuim and Yury V. Kolen’ko
Materials 2022, 15(24), 8805; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15248805 - 9 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1858
Abstract
Thin-film thermoelectrics (TEs) with a thickness of a few microns present an attractive opportunity to power the internet of things (IoT). Here, we propose screen printing as an industry-relevant technology to fabricate TE thin films from colloidal PbSe quantum dots (QDs). Monodisperse 13 [...] Read more.
Thin-film thermoelectrics (TEs) with a thickness of a few microns present an attractive opportunity to power the internet of things (IoT). Here, we propose screen printing as an industry-relevant technology to fabricate TE thin films from colloidal PbSe quantum dots (QDs). Monodisperse 13 nm-sized PbSe QDs with spherical morphology were synthesized through a straightforward heating-up method. The cubic-phase PbSe QDs with homogeneous chemical composition allowed the formulation of a novel ink to fabricate 2 μm-thick thin films through robust screen printing followed by rapid annealing. A maximum Seebeck coefficient of 561 μV K−1 was obtained at 143 °C and the highest electrical conductivity of 123 S m−1 was reached at 197 °C. Power factor calculations resulted in a maximum value of 2.47 × 10−5 W m−1 K−2 at 143 °C. To the best of our knowledge, the observed Seebeck coefficient value is the highest reported for TE thin films fabricated by screen printing. Thus, this study highlights that increased Seebeck coefficients can be obtained by using QD building blocks owing to quantum confinement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructural Thin Films: Microstructure and Optical Properties)
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Review

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21 pages, 7715 KiB  
Review
Review on High-Throughput Micro-Combinatorial Characterization of Binary and Ternary Layers towards Databases
by György Sáfrán, Péter Petrik, Noémi Szász, Dániel Olasz, Nguyen Quang Chinh and Miklós Serényi
Materials 2023, 16(8), 3005; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16083005 - 10 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1358
Abstract
The novel, single-sample concept combinatorial method, the so-called micro-combinatory technique, has been shown to be suitable for the high-throughput and complex characterization of multicomponent thin films over an entire composition range. This review focuses on recent results regarding the characteristics of different binary [...] Read more.
The novel, single-sample concept combinatorial method, the so-called micro-combinatory technique, has been shown to be suitable for the high-throughput and complex characterization of multicomponent thin films over an entire composition range. This review focuses on recent results regarding the characteristics of different binary and ternary films prepared by direct current (DC) and radiofrequency (RF) sputtering using the micro-combinatorial technique. In addition to the 3 mm diameter TEM grid used for microstructural analysis, by scaling up the substrate size to 10 × 25 mm, this novel approach has allowed for a comprehensive study of the properties of the materials as a function of their composition, which has been determined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectroscopic ellipsometry, and nanoindentation studies. Thanks to the micro-combinatory technique, the characterization of multicomponent layers can be studied in greater detail and efficiency than before, which is beneficial for both research and practical applications. In addition to new scientific advances, we will briefly explore the potential for innovation with respect to this new high-throughput concept, including the creation of two- and three-component thin film databases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructural Thin Films: Microstructure and Optical Properties)
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