Routes to thick films

This chapter describes the thick films and their routes that can be broadly grouped as atomic/molecular, liquid, and solids. Thick films are defined as films made using a powder route where there are between 2 and 200 grains through its thickness. This equates to a thickness greater than 1 μm but less than 100 μm. It is concerned with a thickness range over which the placement or nature of individual particles can have a significant influence on the behavior of the film as a whole. The chapter discusses several ways to create films; many of these methods are used to create films that are greater than 1 μm thick. It mainly focuses on the liquid and solid deposition approaches and also reviews some of the other techniques for completeness. The routes described in this chapter includes, routes to achieve non-thick films, thick-film powder based routes, modified powder routes, powder manufacturing routes, and milling.