Porosity engineering in glancing angle deposition thin films

We present a new technique for the fabrication of thin films at highly oblique flux incidence angles, in which the direction of film growth and the direction of incoming deposition flux are decoupled. The technique offers a high level of control over the porosity of thin films, and has been used to make thin films with a uniform and highly porous microstructure of tightly interwoven nanoscale fibres. The nanofibrous films have been analysed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and will be useful for thin film applications relying on high porosity, such as humidity sensors and super-capacitors.