3. Applications

It's not easy to pinpoint a specific field for the use of thin films in electronics, given the variety of applications and, as already mentioned, the fact that the concept of thin films itself is becoming blurred by other, more or less related fields. Nevertheless, an attempt can be made to classify typical thin-film applications:

• the "traditional" field of thin films, i.e. certain analog circuits, encoders and all kinds of sensors, gauges, etc. (see ) ;

• the very specific field of microwave and radio frequency applications, for which in many cases only thin films provide the necessary performance (see ) ;

• the current field of low-frequency, high-interconnection-density applications, essentially that of complex digital circuits, known as...