Texture in Metallic and CeramicFilms and Coatings

The properties of films and coatings can be optimized for a variety of applications bymodifying their texture. Understanding how the texture in thin films is formed and how itcan be controlled during film growth process is one of the most important areas of textureresearch. Several examples were selected to illustrate how the texture in films and coatingsis developed and to explain how various properties of films are affected by texture. Inparticular, texture development during electrodeposition of Zn-based automobile coatings,Ni and Ni-based layers for magnetic recording as well as Fe and Fe-based wearresistantcoatings, is presented. A new area of application of texture research to control thehigh-temperature oxidation resistance of engineering materials is described. Usingexperimental data for Ni and Ti, the factors affecting texture formation during growth ofceramic oxides are discussed, with special attention paid to the role of substrate texture.The correlation between the oxide texture, grain boundary structure and diffusion ofmetal and oxygen ions at high temperatures, is considered.