THE USE AND CONTROL OF GRAIN-BOUNDARIES IN THIN-FILMS

Polycrystalline thin films are widely used in the electronics industry and in surface protection applications. For most cases, a single crys tal film would be preferable but is too costly or simply impossible to achieve. Thus, the grain boundaries are regarded as a necessary evil. We discuss the behavior of grain boundaries during film formation, pr ocessing and utilization, illustrating beneficial as well as deleterio us effects. Some potential strategies for the control of grain boundar y behavior are derived by the application of basic interfacial science .