The Group of Thin Films and Surface Engineering has since 1993 the recognition of the Catalan Government as consolidated research group.

Its research topics can be grouped in two large areas:

  Area of Laser Processing and Biomedical Applications:

• Pulsed laser deposition of hydroxyapatite coatings for medical prostheses.
• Fast images acquisition of the laser ablation plumes and analysis by optical emission spectroscopy.
• Laser surface treatments.
• Laser marking of titanium and ceramics for decorative applications.
• Laser micromachining.
• Laser induced forward transfer deposition of biomolecules for biosensors.
• Application of laser processing to microfluidics.

  Area of Hard Coatings:

• Vacuum technology applications.
• Sputtering PVD of nanometric multilayer coatings.
• Cathodic arc PVD of hard coatings.
• Plasma polymerization CVD of protective coatings.
• Microwave plasma assisted CVD of diamond coatings.
• Plasma surface treatments.
• Tribological characterization of coatings.
• Mechanical properties characterization through nanoindentation.