TY - BOOK ID - 137534563 TI - Current Research in Pulsed Laser Deposition AU - Duta, Liviu AU - Popescu, Andrei C. PY - 2021 PB - Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute DB - UniCat KW - thin films KW - matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation KW - shellac KW - enteric coatings KW - PLD KW - ITO KW - nanoimprint lithography KW - coatings KW - nanostructure KW - iron oxide KW - pulsed laser deposition KW - aluminum nitride KW - nanoindentation testing KW - TEM imaging KW - FTIR spectroscopy KW - ellipsometry KW - complex refractive index KW - composite coatings KW - MAPLE KW - Lactoferrin KW - macrophage interactions KW - animal-origin calcium phosphate coatings KW - natural hydroxyapatite KW - doping KW - high adherence KW - pulsed laser deposition technique KW - biomimetic applications KW - target preparation KW - room temperature ferromagnetism KW - dilute magnetic semiconductor KW - Indium oxide KW - (InFe)2O3 KW - PLD films KW - energy storage KW - thin-film electrodes KW - thin-film solid electrolyte KW - lithium microbatteries KW - calcium phosphate-based coatings KW - synthetic and natural hydroxyapatite KW - in vivo testing KW - biomedical applications KW - n/a UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:137534563 AB - Despite its limitation in terms of surface covered area, the PLD technique still gathers interest among researchers by offering endless possibilities for tuning thin film composition and enhancing their properties of interest due to: (i) the easiness of a stoichiometric transfer even for very complex target materials, (ii) high adherence of the deposited structures to the substrate, (iii) controlled degree of phase, crystallinity, and thickness of deposited coatings, (iv) versatility of the experimental set-up which allows for simultaneous ablation of multiple targets resulting in combinatorial maps or consecutive ablation of multiple targets producing multi-layered structures, and (v) adjustment of the number of laser pulses, resulting in either a spread of nanoparticles, islands of materials or a complete covering of a surface. Moreover, a variation of PLD, known as Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation, allows for deposition of organic materials, ranging from polymers to proteins and even living cells, otherwise difficult to transfer unaltered in the form of thin films by other techniques. Furthermore, the use of laser light as transfer agent ensures purity of films and pulse-to-pulse deposition allows for an unprecedented control of film thickness at the nm level. This Special Issue is a collection of state-of-the art research papers and reviews in which the topics of interest are devoted to thin film synthesis by PLD and MAPLE, for numerous research and industry field applications, such as bio-active coatings for medical implants and hard, protective coatings for cutting and drilling tools withstanding high friction and elevated temperatures, sensors, solar cells, lithography, magnetic devices, energy-storage and conversion devices, controlled drug delivery and in situ microstructuring for boosting of surface properties. ER -