Materials Characterization Using Surface Acoustic Wave Devices

Abstract

Thin film materials are currently used in a wide variety of industrial applications. For example, thin films are used as protective or passivating layers to prevent corrosion and increase lifetime, as conductive and photoactive (e.g., photoresists) layers in the preparation of electronic components and integrated circuits, and as selectively permeable layers for use in gas separations. These thin film materials can be formed by a wide variety of processes, including spraying, spin-coating, dipcoating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), evaporation, and sputtering. The applications of thin film technology continue to expand due to the ability to decrease cost and increase performance using thin film materials whose properties have been tailored to meet the specifications of the application.