Surface Engineering of Thin Films

Dear Colleagues,

Many advanced applications in technology rely upon thin and ultrathin films carefully designed, engineered and deposited on the surfaces of solid substrates. Optoelectronic and magnetic devices, nano-electronics and MEMS, biomedical, catalytic and photocatalytic surfaces, tribological, anticorrosion and other protective coatings—to cite just a few examples—are all based on surface films with a thickness ranging from a single atomic layer to several microns, featuring a nanoscale structure and specific properties that provide the desired functionality. Besides this, the emergence of a wide family of new and exotic 2D materials is opening various innovative scenarios and application possibilities. In all these cases, the formation of thin films, their interaction with the substrate material and the external environment as well as the physics and chemistry underpinning film properties require an in-depth fundamental understanding.

The aim of this Special Issue of Surfaces is to offer a broad open access forum for all groups across the surface science community and gather together a collection of original fundamental, applied research articles and review papers in the context of “Surface Engineering of Thin Films”. Special emphasis will be given to, but not limited by, the following topics:

1. New and emerging thin-film fabrication strategies and techniques that provide tangible benefits in versatility, environmental sustainability, processing efficiency and scalability;
2. Advanced gas and liquid phase methods for thin-film deposition, self-assembly and epitaxial growth (e.g., assisted with pulsed plasmas, laser or electron beams);
3. Smart and multifunctional thin-film materials systems with stimuli-responsive and adaptive behaviour for demanding applications;
4. Green, sustainable and bio-compatible thin-film systems and associated fabrication methods;
5. Advanced thin-film materials, including compositionally and functionally graded nanostructures, superlattices, nanolaminates and 2D materials;
6. Organic thin films, molecular layers and polymeric systems (e.g., hydrated bio/polymers) with new and enhanced properties.

Advanced characterisation and evaluation techniques for thin-film materials systems that provide a new understanding of relationships between their characteristics (e.g., structural, chemical, topological), protective (e.g., mechanical, tribological, corrosion- and oxidation-resistant) and functional (e.g., electronic, optical, magnetic, biological, catalytic) properties, adhesion and in-service behaviour.

Dr. Aleksey Yerokhin
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. Surfaces is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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.

• surface engineering
• coatings
• thin films
• surface characteristics
• properties