Glossary

Template

Generally a pattern or a structure which can be used to guide or to frame a reaction or adsorbtion. It's function can be understood in terms of a lettering stencil.

Thermal Noise

Intrinsic noise in electronical systems of finite resistivity caused by thermal fluctuations. Sometimes the thermal noise is named Johnson- or Johnson-Nyquist noise.

Thermoelectric (TE) material

A material capable of converting heat to electrical energy and electrical energy to heat.

Thin films

Thin films are atomically engineered layers of a wide variety of materials including metals, insulators, semiconductors and organic material. The major applications of thin films are in modification of the surface properties of solids. Individual films may be electrically conductive or non-conducting, hard or soft, thermally conducting or insulating, optically transparent or opaque. A thin film coating can transform the electrical, mechanical and/or optical properties of a solid base material in a cost-effective way. Some common examples are scratch-resistant coatings for spectacles, anti-reflection coatings for lenses, transparent conducting coatings for flat-panel displays and low-friction coatings for bearings. Hard coatings can significantly enhance the lifetime of cutting, drilling and forming tools. Oxygen and moisture barrier films are in widespread use in the packaging of foodstuffs, contributing to the long shelf life of many convenience foods. Thin film coatings also have unique properties that may be exploited in the polarization, reflection, transmission and absorption of light. Complex coatings can be used to provide eye-protection from lasers without significant reduction in overall transmission and other high-performance films are in use for the multiplexing of telecommunication laser signals. Other inherent properties of thin films are used in microelectronics, magnetic recording and optical recording media.

Tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is the application of the principles and methods of engineering and the life sciences toward the fundamental understanding of structure/function relationships in normal and pathological mammalian tissues and the development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain, or improve functions.

Top Down

A general approach going from large items to smaller ones. The opposite of bottom up. In a lithographic sense it means to produce micro- or nanoscaled structures using macroscopic instruments. The most common method is photolithography, which is capable of producing sub-100 nm features. Other examples are electron beam lithography (EBL) and scanning probe lithography (SPN).

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

A collimated monochromatic electron beam is focused on the sample surface via a magnetic lens system. Electrons interact with atoms of the sample resulting in a specific particle and radiation emission. The sample is thin enough (several 100 nm thick) to be electron transparent. The transmission is detected providing local material information with spatial resolution. A HRTEM (high resolution TEM) provides images with atomic resolution.

Tribology

The generic study of friction, wear, lubrication of interacting surfaces. Literally tribo stems from Greek and means rubbing.

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