Film thickness refers to the thinness or thickness of the film in a device. They range usually from a fraction of a nanometre to several micrometres in thickness. The thinner the film, the more conductivity the film has. Many different types of films are being created, such as ferromagnetic thin films, ceramic thin films and even thin film solar for a method of reducing the cost of photovoltaic.

The engineering of thin films is difficult, mostly because the physics involved with creating them are in some cases not well understood. The process of dewetting has an ongoing debate as to why it occurs in the production of thin films and research continues to find the answer.

There are many different techniques involved in deposition of a thin film, thus effecting the film’s thickness. They include chemical bath deposition, physical vapour deposition, chemical vapor deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, sol-gel process, spin coating, electrodeposition, metallo-organic decomposition, and seeding technology.

Thin films can also be affected by thin-film thickness monitors. These not only detect the thickness of the film but can also affect its thickness while it is still being deposited. These instruments are used in ultra-high vacuum systems in order to enact the best possible outcome.