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Established by a research
development grant from SHEFC,
the Thin Film Centre aims to act
as a centre of excellence in
Scotland for the development of
deposition processes for thin
films, the design and
fabrication of thin film
products, the characterisation
of thin films and the
dissemination of information
about the applications of thin
films. |
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Thin films are atomically
engineered layers of a wide
variety of materials including
metals, insulators and
semiconductors. The major
applications of thin films are
in modification of the surface
properties of solids. Individual
films may be electrically
conductive or non-conducting,
hard or soft, thermally
conducting or insulating,
optically transparent or opaque |
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Multi-layer Optical Filter
(Scanning Electron Microscope view of X-sectn) |
A thin film coating, can
transform the electrical,
mechanical and/or optical
properties of a solid base
material in a cost-effective
way. Some common examples are
scratch-resistant coatings for
spectacles, anti-reflection
coatings for lenses, transparent
conducting coatings for
flat-panel displays and
low-friction coatings for
bearings.
Hard coatings can significantly
enhance the lifetime of cutting,
drilling and forming tools.
Oxygen and moisture barrier
films are in widespread use in
the packaging of foodstuffs;
contributing to the long
shelf-life of many convenience
foods.
Thin film coatings also have
unique properties that may be
exploited in the polarization,
reflection, transmission and
absorption of light. Complex
multi-layer coatings can be used
to provide eye-protection from
lasers without significant
reduction in overall
transmission. Other
high-performance coatings are in
use for the multiplexing of
telecommunication laser signals.
Other inherent properties of
thin films are used in
microelectronics, magnetic
recording and optical recording
media.
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