This book is the first part of a two-volume monograph created with the intention of providing professionals working in research or industry in the fields of material surfaces and thin films, as well as students, with an introduction to the fundamentals and an overview of the diverse applications and processes of surface and thin film technology. This work is based on the author's many years of experience in this field, both in industry and academia. In practical applications, technical surfaces and thin films must fulfill a variety of functions. To name just a few examples: in optics as anti-reflective, reflective, or absorbing layers; in electrical engineering as contacts, resistors, and capacitors; in microelectronics as...