Thin Film: Deposition, Growth Aspects, and Characterization

Abstract

Thin film science and technology plays an important role in the development of devices in the future ranging from energy-efficient display devices to energy-harvesting and storage devices such as solar cell, fuel cell, batteries, super capacitor, etc. Thin films have properties that can be different from that of their corresponding bulk structures. A film is considered as thin, as long as its surface properties are different from its bulk behaviour. Thin films have larger surface to volume ratio, hence the surface and near surface characteristics decide the properties of the thin film. As a result thin film properties generally depend on the thickness of the film which extends from few micrometre to nanometre, substrate nature on which the films are grown and deposition methodology/conditions used in the fabrication of thin films. Thin film fabrications are generally carried out by depositing the required material in the atomistic deposition (atom by atom) over the required substrate, which may result in either single crystalline, polycrystalline, or amorphous structure depending on the deposition conditions. Thin film technology has the potential to engineer the various properties such as porosity, surface morphology, surface roughness, and crystallite size. These advantages in thin film assist in the development of new products and minimize the waste as in the conventional manufacturing techniques. This chapter provides an overview of various thin film processing methods, mechanism behind the growth and important tools used for the characterization of thin films.