Summary
This module introduces the role of defects in thin films and their influence on mechanical, thermal, electrical, and barrier-related properties. We discuss how point, line, and planar defects form during deposition, how they interact, and how they can be deliberately engineered through composition, stress, and architecture (e.g., multilayers, nanolamellae, amorphous/crystalline designs). The module highlights strategies for exploiting defect structures—including vacancy ordering, interface engineering, and multilayer architectures—to enhance hardness, toughness, transport properties, diffusion resistance, and long-term performance. Recent examples from our research on hydrogen permeation barriers and functional thin films such as thermoelectric Heusler materials illustrate how defect-controlled design can tailor mechanical, physical, and transport behavior.
Topics
- Types of defects in thin films: point, line, and planar
- Defect formation during PVD growth
- Influence of defects on mechanical, thermal, electrical, and barrier properties
- Point-defect engineering: vacancies, antisites, superstructures
- Dislocations in thin films: generation, motion, interaction with stress
- Grain boundaries, stacking faults, twins, and interfaces
- Defect engineering strategies: multilayers, graded films, metastable and amorphous/crystalline architectures
- Case studies from nitrides, carbides, high-entropy coatings, hydrogen barriers, and functional thin films (e.g., thermoelectrics)
Instructor
Paul Mayrhofer
University Professor of Materials Science
Head – Materials Science (E308-01)
Dean of Academic Affairs – Materials Science,
Mechanical Engineering, and ME–Management
Institute of Materials Science and Technology, TU Wien, Austria
