A microscopically thin layer of material that is deposited onto a metal, ceramic or semiconductor base. Typically less than one micron thick, thin films can be conductive or dielectric (non-conductive). For example, the top metallic layer on a chip and the coating on magnetic disks are thin films. See sputtering.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- My Awesome IT Job: Director of Rich Media Group at Microsoft
- Hey, we all complain about work from time to time; we've all had lousy jobs. But before you call it a day and head off to the support group that meets at the bar, here are a few words from an IT pro that loves their work. ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-10
- Photos: Cracking open Apple's revamped iPod Nano
- The new-model iPod Nano is tall, thin, and well-built. Maybe just a little too well-built for its own good. by CNET News.com
- Image galleries 2008-10-09
- The five products Apple must make
- What ought to be Apple's next leap of faith? Here are a few ideas for where Apple should go next. What are your ideas? Apple made its latest big move into new territories last year with the launch of the now ubiquitous iPhone, expanding beyond the desktop and...
- News items 2008-10-09
- Scientists make ultrathin superconducting films
- U.S. researchers have developed ultrathin films that when sandwiched together form a superconductor, an advance that could lead to a new class of fast, power-saving electronics. CHICAGO--U.S. researchers have developed ultrathin films that when sandwiched together form a superconductor, an advance that could lead to a new class of...
- News items 2008-10-09
- YouTube teams with iTunes, Amazon to offer e-commerce feature
- It's Business 101: Don't wait for your customers to come to you. Go to the places where they are. That's why you've seen the launches of music streaming services within MySpace and Google's AdSense program extended into Web-based video games. Now, YouTube has partnered with Amazon and...
- Blog posts 2008-10-08
- Remember Vivitar cameras? Here's what's in store next for the brand
- Remember Vivitar cameras? Here's what's in store next for the brandYou mean......Vitovar. Along with Kodiak and Palmeroid.This is the way customers actually mispronounced manufacturers' names.RE: Remember Vivitar cameras? Here's what's in store next for the brandI remember Vivitar as the maker of the world-class Series One prime and zoom lenses...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-08
- Forget the damn Linux netbooks. Can Windows replace Windows?
- My esteemed ZDNet colleague Ed Bott, God bless him, wrote a very insightful piece in which he discusses Taiwanese PC mainboard and component manufacturer MSI's challenges of selling Linux-based versions of their netbook, the Wind U90. Apparently, according to MSI, Linux-based versions of their netbook are...
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- Samsung Sway SCH-U650 (Verizon Wireless)
- It's clear that Samsung loves two things: slim slider phones and midrange camera phones with a flip design. Indeed, we've seen a deluge of such models over the last few years, with the latest in the slider camp being the Samsung SCH-U650 for Verizon Wireless. Also called the Sway, (why,...
- Product reviews 2008-10-07
- Online, hard to avoid debate
- Tonight's presidential debate is spring up all over the Net. NBC's Hulu has launched a new Election 08 hub, which PaidContent describes as "an odd mix of debates, speeches, political humor, soundbites and commentary." Hulu is also showing Crawford, a film about the effects of...
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- Remember Vivitar cameras? Here's what's in store next for the brand
- Back in its heyday, the Vivitar brand meant well-priced, good quality lenses, flash units and SLR film cameras, but more recently it's been associated with a generic, though broad line of digital cameras... by Janice Chen
- Blog posts 2008-10-07
- Samsung SCH-U430 (Verizon Wireless)
- Photo gallery:Samsung SCH-U430If you're looking for a basic flip phone with a VGA camera, you can always count on Samsung to deliver. Indeed, the company pumps them out by the dozen and the Samsung SCH-U430 is the latest of the batch. Sporting a simple, compact design and minimal features, the...
- Product reviews 2008-10-06
- Canon EF 70-200mm f4 IS USM L
- You want a medium telephoto lens for your Canon dSLR, something with a constant aperture, solidly built with pro quality, yet light enough to carry on adventure to some far away part of the world. You have looked at the f2.8 models but didn't think you could afford them or...
- Product reviews 2008-10-06
- Student Technology Day: Steve Ballmer Q&A
- There was quite a lot to transcribe out, and many questions asked. Some questions put to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, include: Will we always need programmers? What's Microsoft's input in Facebook and social networking? Does Microsoft have any changes in mind for their...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- CEATEC Roundup: Sony's 0.3mm OLED display, Sharp's solar-power TV, Panasonic's LifeWall concept
- While we all wait around until January for the Consumer Electronics Show, an event like CEATEC Japan can give us a taste of the future for home theater. And since ZDNet didn't offer to fly me over there to check it out first-hand (cough, next year, cough), I had to...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- Hollywood to kids: Pay up for preschool movies
- Hollywood to kids: Pay up for preschool moviesThe States next?So when it does come to the States?Talk about trying to get blood from a turnip...This is nuts. Simply nuts. They bought your dvd..that should be the end of it. License per year to show it? They...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-06
- Hollywood to kids: Pay up for preschool movies
- The scene: An Irish preschool for toddlers. The children sit on the floor in a semi-circle, watching a TV screen. They squeal with delight at "The Little Mermaid," "Toy Story" and other Hollywood kids' fare. Enter a black-masked villain, carrying a fearful letter. He is not the true villain, though;...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- The cloud finally comes to education
- Cloud computing is one of those great buzzwords in IT that, so far, has meant very little to the average Ed Tech customer. We all have a pretty good idea what it means: lots of computers somewhere (we don't actually care where) doing lots of processing to deliver services...
- Blog posts 2008-10-06
- Polk Audio RM95
- Polk Audio engineers and designers are hip to the fact that everybody wants the smallest possible speakers. Big displays and small speakers are where it's at, and Polk's RM95 home theater five pack comes with four tiny satellites and a very compact center speaker for $600. You add your choice...
- Product reviews 2008-10-03
- Our second Linux laptop has a real keyboard
- Our second Linux laptop has a real keyboardXandros lite is OK ...For the average user the Xandros Lite OS is fine, but it does have some shortcomings:1) Asus for some reason has a ram limit compiled into the kernel of 1GB. The machine has a max limit of 2GB, but...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-03
- HP Acquires LeftHand Networks, Virtualized iSCSI Storage Vendor
- Today, HP announced the intention to acquire iSCSI storage vendor LeftHand Networks for $360 Million in cash. LeftHand makes virtualized storage array software that can turn just about any server, PC or subset of disks on a device into a full featured IP based SAN array with features like space...
- Blog posts 2008-10-02
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Printers
- 'Green' Font Cuts Costs and Saves Trees (BNET)
- Three Ways to Save Paper (BNET)
- CNET Reviews printer buying guide (CNET)
- View all printers-tagged content on ZDNet
- Plan B from Brother
- It's the smarter way to work in color Our professional color ink-jet all-in-ones give you more choices, more features, and more value. Make the Smarter Choice. Learn More »
