Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Thin Films and Coatings. 2. Methods of Thin Film Deposition. 3. Characterization Techniques for Thin Films. 4. Hybrid and Scalable Thin Films. 5. Bibliometric Analysis of Applications of Thin Film Coatings. 6. Thin Films for Biomedical Applications. 7. Thin Films for Surface Protection. 8. Thin Films for Cutting Tools. 9. Thin Films for Electronic, Spintronica, and Optical Applications. 10. Thin Films for Energy Applications. 11. Smart and Self-Healing Thin Film Materials. 12. Thin Films for Antimicrobial Applications. 13. High Entropy Alloy Thin Films. 14. Thin Films and Industry 4.0. 15. Thin Films and 3D Printing Technology

About the Author

Dr. Fredrick Madaraka Mwema is a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya and Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, respectively. He is currently Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya. Dr. Mwema is also the Director for the Centre for Nanomaterials and Nanoscience Research at the same university.

Prof. Tien-Chien Jen joined University of Johannesburg in 2015. Previously he was a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Prof. Jen received his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCLA, specializing in thermal aspects of grinding. He is also the Director of Manufacturing Research Centre of the University of Johannesburg. Prof. Jen has written 340 peer-reviewed articles, including 140 peer-reviewed journal papers, published in many prestigious journals. He also has written over 17 chapters in special topics book. Prof. Jen published a research book titled “Chalcogenide: Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Composites,” published by Taylor & Francis in 2021.

Dr. Lin Zhu is Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Anhui Agricultural University, P. R. China. He received his Ph.D. in Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), specializing in flowing characteristics and structural analysis of a silicon-based micro-combustor. He was a postdoctoral research associate in mechanical engineering at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a visiting scholar of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Currently, he has over 80 publications and has written three books.