This second, comprehensive edition of the pioneering book in this fi eld has been completely revised and extended, now stretching to two volumes. The result is a comprehensive summary of layer-by-layer assembled, truly hybrid nanomaterials and thin fi lms, covering organic, inorganic, colloidal, macromolecular, and biological components, as well as the assembly of nanoscale fi lms derived from them on surfaces. These two volumes are essential for anyone working in the field, as well as scientists and researchers active in materials development, who needs the key knowledge provided herein for linking the field of molecular self-assembly with the bio- and materials sciences.

This book, "Multilayer Thin Films-Versatile Applications for Materials Engineering", includes thirteen chapters related to the preparations, characterizations, and applications in the modern research of materials engineering. The evaluation of nanomaterials in the form of different shapes, sizes, and volumes needed for utilization in different kinds of gadgets and devices. Since the recently developed two-dimensional carbon materials are proving to be immensely important for new configurations in the miniature scale in the modern technology, it is imperative to innovate various atomic and molecular arrangements for the modifications of structural properties. Of late, graphene and graphene-related derivatives have been proven as the most versatile two-dimensional nanomaterials with superb mechanical, electrical, electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. To understand the in-depth technology, an effort has been made to explain the basics of nano dimensional materials. The importance of nano particles in various aspects of nano technology is clearly indicated. There is more than one chapter describing the use of nanomaterials as sensors. In this volume, an effort has been made to clarify the use of such materials from non-conductor to highly conducting species. It is expected that this book will be useful to the postgraduate and research students as this is a multidisciplinary subject.

During the last 20 years interest in high-resolution x-ray diffractometry and reflectivity has grown as a result of the development of the semiconductor industry and the increasing interest in material research of thin layers of magnetic, organic, and other materials. For example, optoelectronics requires a subsequent epitaxy of thin layers of different semiconductor materials. Here, the individuallayer thicknesses are scaled down to a few atomic layers in order to exploit quantum effects. For reasons of electronic and optical confinement, these thin layers are embedded within much thicker cladding layers or stacks of multilayers of slightly different chemical composition. It is evident that the interface quality of those quantum weHs is quite important for the function of devices. Thin metallic layers often show magnetic properties which do not ap pear for thick layers or in bulk material. The investigation of the mutual interaction of magnetic and non-magnetic layers leads to the discovery of colossal magnetoresistance, for example. This property is strongly related to the thickness and interface roughness of covered layers.

Materials scientists are often faced with the problem of modifying surfaces of objects, yet keeping their shape and properties. This book provides a detailed survey on the new technology of adsorption from solution for the fabrication of molecularly ordered multicomposite films in order to replace and expand on the well known Langmuir-Blodgett technology and to open the field of molecular self-assembly to materials and biosciences. The book is aimed at scientists who want to integrate several different functional entities in a single device. To this audience it presents the technique of layer-by-layer assembly as today's most powerful key technology, which is low cost, solution based and very robust. It is already beginning to make the transition from academic research into industrial mass production.

A wide variety of applications ranging from microelectronics to turbines for propulsion and power generation rely on films, coatings, and multilayers to improve performance. As such, the ability to predict coating failure - such as delamination (debonding), mud-cracking, blistering, crack kinking, and the like - is critical to component design and development. This work compiles and organizes decades of research that established the theoretical foundation for predicting such failure mechanisms, and clearly outlines the methodology needed to predict performance. Detailed coverage of cracking in multilayers is provided, with an emphasis on the role of differences in thermoelastic properties between the layers. The comprehensive theoretical foundation of the book is complemented by easy-to-use analysis codes designed to empower novices with the tools needed to simulate cracking; these codes enable not only precise quantitative reproduction of results presented graphically in the literature, but also the generation of new results for more complex multilayered systems.