Surface morphology control of thin films prepared by solution processes and its application

Surface morphology of materials brings various new properties to the surface, and thus, the control of the surface morphology is very important. In this paper, surface morphology control of sol-gel derived films using several processes has been reviewed. Hot water treatment (bottom up process), combination of UV-irradiation and chemical etching (top down process), and micropattern formation using a hydrophobic-hydrophilic patterned surface were reported. (C)2013 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.