The synthesis of multicomponent/multilayered superconducting, conducting, semiconducting and insulating thin films has become the subject of an intensive, worldwide, interdisciplinary research effort. The development of deposition-characterization techniques and the science and technology related to the synthesis of these films are critical for the successful evolution of this interdisciplinary field of research and the implementation of the new materials in a whole new generation of advanced microdevices. This book contains the lectures and contributed papers on various scientific and technological aspects of multicomponent and multilayered thin films presented at a NATO/ASI. Compared to other recent books on thin films, the distinctive character of this book is the interdisciplinary treatment of the various fields of research related to the different thin film materials mentioned above. The wide range of topics discussed in this book include vacuum-deposition techniques, synthesis-processing, characterization, and devices of multicomponent/multilayered oxide high temperature superconducting, ferroelectric, electro-optic, optical, metallic, silicide, and compound semiconductor thin films. The book presents an unusual intedisciplinary exchange of ideas between researchers with cross-disciplinary backgrounds and it will be useful to established investigators as well as postdoctoral and graduate students.

Plasma Sputter Deposition Systems: Plasma Generation, Basic Physics and Characterization.- Technology and Application of Filamentless RF - Ion Sources in Ion Beam Sputter Deposition.- Physics of Film Growth from the Vapor Phase.- Techniques for the Growth of Crystalline Films by Molecular Beam Deposition.- Discharge Density Increase for High Rate Magnetron Sputtering.- On the Transport of Sputtered Species in Plasma Sputter-Deposition Systems.- Influence of Sputter Gas Pressure and Substrate Bias on Intrinsic Stress and Crystallinity of Coatings Produced by Magnetron Sputtering.- Sputter Deposition of Multicomponent Targets: What Parts of the Process Affect the Elemental Composition of the Film.- A Proposition of a Novel Reactive Sputter-Deposition System for Synthesizing Multi-Component Materials.- The Influence of Precursors on the Preparation of Thin Pyrite Films by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition.- Modelling of the Intrinsic Stress in PVD-Coatings.- Physical Vapor Deposition of Multicomponent Oxide Thin Films: Techniques, Basic Deposition Processes and Film Processing-Microstructure-Property Relationships.- Pulsed Laser Deposited Metal-Oxide Based Superconductor, Semiconductor and Dielectric Heterostructures and Superlattices.- Synthesis of Optical Thin Films: Fundamentals and Applications.- Ion Beam-Based Characterization of Multicomponent Oxide Thin Films and Thin Film Layered Structures.- Electron Spectroscopic Analysis of Multicomponent Thin Films with Particular Emphasis on Oxides.- Transmission Electron Microscopy of Oxide Thin Films.- Laser Deposition of HTSC Films: Expansion of the Laser Plasma, Deposition of Particles, Formation of the Crystal Structure and Superconducting Properties of Films.- YBACUO Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition andSputtering.- Transverse Electrooptic Properties of Magnetron Sputtered PLZT Thin Films.- Lead Zirconate Titanate Ferroelectric Thin Films by Laser Ablation Deposition.- Photo Voltaic Properties of Reactive Thermal Evaporated Indium Oxide (IO)/ Silicon Junctions.- In Situ Compositional Analysis of Multielement Thin Films.- Si-Ge Strained Layer Heterostructures: Device Possibilities and Process Limitations.- Growth, Properties and Applications of Epitaxial Selicides.- Deposition Fundamentals and Properties of Metallic and Diffusion Barrier Films.- Epitaxial CoSi2 Formation on (001) Si using Sequentially Deposited Ti-Co Bilayers.- Stress in Si1-xGex Films Prepared by Ion Beam Sputtering.- Band Engineering of High Bandgap Semiconductors by Superlattices.- Characterization of Tungsten Films and Hard Tungsten-Carbon Coatings Prepared by DC Magnetron Sputtering Process.- Pulsed Excimer Laser Induced Reactions at the Tungsten-Silicon Interface.- Rapid Pulsed CO2 - Laser Annealing of Silicon-Nitride / Silicon Interface States.- Interface Properties of Anodic Sulfide and Sulfide-Oxide Films on n-InSb.- Spin Glass Like Behavior in Cr-Cu Multilayers.- High Temperature Superconducting Thin Film-Based Devices.- Ferroelectric Thin Films and Device Applications.- Phase Locking in Series-Connected Nb-Al-Nb Planar Josephson Weak Links.