Recent Advances in Thin Films (Materials Horizons: From Nature to Nanomaterials)

This volume comprises the expert contributions from the invited speakers at the 17th International Conference on Thin Films (ICTF 2017), held at CSIR-NPL, New Delhi, India. Thin film research has become increasingly important over the last few decades owing to the applications in latest technologies and devices. The book focuses on current advances in thin film deposition processes and characterization including thin film measurements. The chapters cover different types of thin films like metal, dielectric, organic and inorganic, and their diverse applications across transistors, resistors, capacitors, memory elements for computers, optical filters and mirrors, sensors, solar cells, LED's, transparent conducting coatings for liquid crystal display, printed circuit board, and automobile headlamp covers. This book can be a useful reference for students, researchers as well as industry professionals by providing an up-to-date knowledge on thin films and coatings. 

Dr. Sushil Kumar is Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi and also recognized as Professor of Physical Sciences at Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR). His research interests cover solar cells, thin film coatings and plasma processing and related instrumentation.  He was a visiting fellow at Ecole Polytechnique – Palaiseau, Paris, France during 2002-2003. He received his Ph.D in 1997 from the Institute of Technology (now IIT-BHU), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi with research focusing on the stress relieved diamond like carbon thin films. He has significantly contributed over the years in process development for growth of nanostructured diamond like coatings, and silicon thin films and their related instrumentation.  He has published more than 100 research papers in peer-reviewed international journals and also holds three international patents on deposition of diamond-like carbon films (USA and European Patents) and nanostructured silicon films (USA patent). Some well recognized academic awards he received includes: BOYSCAST fellowship by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Young Scientist Award, CSIR, INDIA.  Recently, he has also developed a laboratory for organic solar cells testing and validation at CSIR-NPL. His current research focuses on the development of products for rural household and recycling of solar modules.

Dr. D. K. Aswal is currently Director, CSIR- National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, Director, Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI, Pilani) and Chairman,  National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), India is maintaining lien with his position as “Outstanding Scientist” at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, Mumbai. Dr. Aswal, during 2012-2015, has also served as Secretary, Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES), Mumbai, which is an autonomous institution under DAE. Dr. Aswal joined BARC through the training school batch of the year 1986 after completing M.Sc. in Physics (Gold medalist) from Garhwal University in 1985. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Mumbai University and subsequently carried out post-doctoral research work at the Research Institute of Electronics, Hamamatsu, Japan. He is a condensed matter physicist of international repute and has made several outstanding contributions in the areas of molecular electronics, physics of organic films and their applications, thermoelectric power generators and gas sensors. He has had visiting professor/scientist positions at several international institutes/universities viz. Institut d 'Electronique de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie (France), Sizuoka University (Japan), Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (France), Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), University of Yamanashi (Japan), University of Paris VII (France), Karlsruhe institute of Technology (Germany), and the University of South Florida (USA). He is a recipient of several national and international awards/fellowships including Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Academician, Asia Pacific  Academy of Materials, Distinguished Faculty Award of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal, Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award, DAE-SRC Outstanding Research Investigator Award, Paraj: Excellence in Science award, JSPS fellowship (Japan), BMBF fellowship (Germany), EGIDE fellowship (France). He has edited three books, contributed 20 book chapters, published over 275 journal papers, filed three patents and secured the trademark of Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND) – the Indian Certified Reference Materials.  His current focus is to enhance the metrological capabilities of India at par with international standards for continuous improvement of the quality and safety of life in the country and making CSIR-NPL as a growth engine of the nation by supporting industries and strategic sectors through apex calibration facilities.