Thin Film

Name:
Thin Film
Detailed information:
In electronic engineering a film having a “thickness” of a single atom and consisting of a metal deposited on a metallic substrate either externally by vapor deposition or internally by diffusion. The base metal is usually tungsten (for a cathode), the film being any of a number of other metals (thorium, cesium, zirconium, barium, or cerium). “The greatest benefit is obtained when the films are of a monatomic nature; in the case of thorium on tungsten, the optimum coverage is 0.67 monatomic layer, i.e., the thorium atoms do not completely cover the tungsten surface. Such films are very tightly bound to the base metal by atomic forces” (W. H. Kohl).See Thin; Film.