Terminology; fundamentals of vacuum science; introduction to plasma physics and chemistry; film deposition techniques: vacuum evaporation, sputtering, plasma polymerization, mass spektrometry, laser-enhanced CVD, CVD processes; thin film characterization: film growth, film thickness and deposition rate, scanning probe microscopy (STM, AFM, EFM, MFM, SNOM), mechanical properties (measurement techniques, internal stress, adhesion), spectroscopic ellipsometry and analytical methods (XPS, RBS, ERDA, FTIR).