Who cares about thin films?

What is a thin film? A thin film is a very thin layer of material. Who cares?

Most of us actually use thin films in our daily lives. Have you heard of anti-reflection coatings? They are found on car windshields, sunglasses, and camera lenses, to name a few. This video is old, but it does a good job of explaining how thin film anti-reflection coatings and thin film interference work.

Thin films are found in your computers, too. For example, there are layers of material only a few atoms thick that allow the transistors (described in http://thebiglightinthesky.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-does-my-computer-work.html ) to switch without wasting much energy.

We also grow thin films of solar cells.These thin film cells can often be made less expensively than other competing cells. Some materials need only a small volume in order to absorb most of the sun's light. A variety of techniques, such as evaporation or sputtering, to name a few, can be used to lay down thin layers of material.