Nanotribological studies of thin films are needed to develop a fundamental understanding of the phenomena that occur to the interface surfaces that come in contact at the micro and nanoscale and to study the interfacial phenomena that occur in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and other applications. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been shown to be an instrument capable of investigating the nanomechanical behavior of many surfaces, including thin films. The measurements of tribo-mechanical behavior for MEMS materials are essential when it comes to designing and evaluating MEMS devices. A great deal of research has been conducted to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of different measurements methods for mechanical properties of MEMS material; nevertheless, the technologies regarding manufacturing and testing MEMS materials are not fully developed. The objectivesof this study are to focus on the review of the mechanical and tribological advantages of thin film and to highlight the experimental results of some thin films to obtain quantitative analyses, the elastic/plastic response and the nanotribological behavior. The slight fluctuation of the results for common thin-film materials is most likely due to the lack of international standardization for MEMS materials and for the methods used to measure their properties.

The transition to a circular economy with an emphasis on eco-innovation is just beginning both in Europe and in Romania, as a member country of the European Union. The whole economic system in which people operate must be circular, which means that it must eliminate conflicting aspects related to regulation, collaboration, governance, supply chain dynamics, and data transparency. However, the barriers to the transition to a circular economy are substantial, and it is up to states to work together to find innovative solutions to society’s problems. This article focuses on aspects related to eco-innovation in the field of drinking water quality in all administrative regions of Romania. In this regard, a study was undertaken, and the main objective pursued in was to identify and highlight the degree of eco-innovation of drinking water suppliers in seven underdeveloped regions of Romania. Starting from an analysis of the water management framework through the OECD Principles on Water Governance, it was possible to develop a study on drinking water supply companies in Romania. This study was performed based on specific indicators grouped by categories, and it aimed in two directions: on the one hand, the identification of drinking water distributors with a high degree of eco-innovation, which leads to quality certification of the drinking water supplied and which has the impact of encouraging household consumers to mainly use this type of supplied water to the detriment of PET bottled water (which has well-known major disadvantages in relation to environmental pollution and user health); on the other hand, the identification of drinking water supply companies with a low degree of eco-innovation, which is proof of the need for mandatory measures to improve drinking water quality, measures that can be taken at the supplier level but especially with support from the administrative and political environment.

Titanium nitride applicability covers different industries such as microelectronics, biomedicine and so on. This paper presents the analysis of the structural and optical properties of titanium nitride thin films for different deposition conditions. The samples were deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates. The deposition was done at room temperature, on substrates preheated at 300 °C or on substrates that were polarized at-40 V and-90 V respectively. The results indicate a dependency of the structural orientation with respect to the deposition process when this takes place at room temperature. When the deposition was done on a preheated substrate there was no structural orientation. A negative polarization of the substrate leads to the formation of small sized crystallites. Regarding the optical properties, the films showed good semiconductor properties and a low reflectivity.

The thin film industry is continuously growing due to the wide range of applications that require the fabrication of advanced components such as sensors, biological implants, micro-electromechanical devices, optical coatings and so on. The selection regarding the deposition materials, as well as the deposition technology influences the properties of the material and determines the suitability of devices for certain real-world applications. This paper is focused on the adhesion force for several chromium nitride thin films obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering. All chromium nitride thin films were deposited on a silicon substrate, the discharge current and the argon flow being kept constant. The main purpose of the paper is to determine the influence of deposition parameters on the adhesion force. Therefore some of the deposition parameters were varied in order to study their effect on the adhesion force. Experimentally, the values of the adhesion force were determined in multiple points for each sample using the spectroscopy in point mode of the atomic force microscope. The obtained values were used to estimate the surface energy of the CrN thin films based on two existing mathematical models for the adhesion force when considering the contact between two bodies.

Different nitrides such as titanium nitride, chromium nitride and so on are used in a widespread range of applications such as cutting tools, medical implants, and microelectromechanical devices and all that due to their mechanical, physical and chemical properties. The aim of this study is to obtain chromium nitride thin films and to characterize them by atomic force microscopy investigations. The chromium nitride thin films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates. During the deposition process, the discharge current, the argon and nitrogen flows, the pressure inside the chamber and the deposition time were kept constant. A chromium target with a purity of 99.95 % was used. Some of the films were deposited after a chromium buffer layer was previously deposited on the silicon substrate. The deposition was carried out when substrate temperature was at room temperature, at 300 and 500°C respectively. Once the films were deposited, atomic force microscopy investigations were performed in order to emphasize the influence of the substrate temperature on the topographical, mechanical and tribological characteristics. The results pointed out an important influence of the substrate temperature on topographical, mechanical and tribological properties of the investigated chromium nitride thin films.