Thin films

A close look at the surface chemistry of thin films used in electronic devices reveals how air exposure affects their performance.

Defects are not necessarily bad; researchers have used them to improve the ability of molybdenum oxide thin films to capture CO₂.

Scientists find a way to control the way cracks form and spread to make a coating for electrochromic materials

Using a newly developed technique, protective casings for microscale devices can be built quickly and cheaply without damaging components

Understanding how hydration affects color-changing windows that optimize solar energy transmission can boost their efficiency and durability

Reducing information stored in magnetic thin films to the physical size of single grains could improve computer hard drives

Design optimization could help maximize the power conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells

Nanopillars significantly boost the power conversion efficiency of thin-film solar cells

The successful growth of high-quality indium nitride thin films makes it possible to produce nitride-based light-emitting diodes with a full visible emission spectrum

Ultrasmooth silver surfaces promise invisibility cloaks, ultrahigh-resolution lenses and other enhanced photonic devices

Growing ‘forests’ of nanostructures on thin silicon films boosts their light-harvesting properties

Tiny silver nanoparticles boost the efficiency of thin-film solar cells