Purpose – This paper aims to presents a new method of investigation of local properties of conformal coatings utilized in microelectronics. Design/methodology/approach – It is based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique supplemented with the ability of local electrical measurements, which apart from topography acquisition allows recording of local impedance spectra, impedance imaging and dc current mapping. Potentialities...

We report the fabrication of a novel fiber-optic sensor device, based on the use of a microsphere conformally coated with a thin layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) by atomic layer deposition (ALD), and its use as a refractive index sensor. The microsphere was prepared on the tip of a single-mode optical fiber, on which a conformal ZnO thin film of 200 nm was deposited using an ALD process based on diethyl zinc (DEZ) and water at 100 °C....