6. Conclusion

The aim of this article was to provide an overview of the main thin-film processes, and to review the state of the art in dielectric thin-film crystal growth and applications. The liquid-phase epitaxy growth technique, which was more specifically detailed, is particularly well suited to the growth of thin films of materials intended for optical applications, which sometimes require thicknesses of up to several hundred microns.

The experimental approach describing the thin-film synthesis process has been presented in a deliberately straightforward way, with a view to pedagogy, using concrete examples such as the growth of layers of well-known fluorides or oxides. The mechanisms behind epitaxial growth are described from a thermodynamic point of view, as well as from an atomic point of view, through the description of phenomena occurring at the growth interface. The...