Notice: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0132918. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Thin Films are very thin coatings applied to things that we use everyday in our lives.  Thin Films can be made of many different materials and can be applied to almost any surface.  This website is designed to introduce the science and technology behind Thin Films.  This site is developed as an aid to students who would like to learn about the basics behind this exciting new material science.

Semiconductors-Silicon Silicon forms covalent bonds with four outer electrons. Because of this it must be doped to change it from an insulator to a semi-conductor. If it is doped with a material that has more then four outer electrons, such as Phosphorus or Arsenic it will then be N-type. If it is doped with a material that has less then four outer electrons such as Boron or Galium it will become P-type. (band gaps? P-n junction, transistor?)