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• thin film
  thin film

  noun

  a film of material only a few microns thick, deposited on a substrate, as in the technology for making integrated circuits.
• thin-film
  thin-film

  adjective

  (of an electronic component, device, or circuit) composed of one or more extremely thin layers of metal, semiconductor, etc, deposited on a ceramic or glass substrate

thin film

American  

noun

1. a film of material only a few microns thick, deposited on a substrate, as in the technology for making integrated circuits.

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thin-film British  

adjective

1. (of an electronic component, device, or circuit) composed of one or more extremely thin layers of metal, semiconductor, etc, deposited on a ceramic or glass substrate

   thin-film capacitor

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Other Word Forms

• thin-film
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of thin film

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

They engineered a hafnium-based thin film that switches states through a more controlled mechanism.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

They fabricated a thin film of Mn3Sn and sent brief electrical pulses through it.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2026

At the same time, the researchers continue to investigate other characteristics of thin film iron telluride selenide to better understand its potential for next generation quantum computing.

From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026

The team then stacked the Fe-Ga thin film atop an Si substrate with the optimum thickness ratio.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2024

Sure enough, in the thin film of dust that had settled over it were dog tracks.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson