Thin films constitute a noteworthy added value for flat glass used in construction & other industrial sectors. Due to their deposition, various techniques & materials are used, depending on the products use. Energy-saving window glasses & glass doors include solar controlled glass, additionally, it includes low-emissivity glasses capable of reducing inside-outside heat dispersion during winter & self-cleaning glasses, intelligent glasses, photovoltaic panels & touch screen displays for interactive devices etc. These are just some of the most significant examples of products. These products continuous growth & diffusion pose the problem of characterizing their optical properties, composition & structure. Thin films have thicknesses that generally range from dozens to hundreds of nanometers & it is necessary to make use of very sensitive surface analytical techniques in order to obtain accurate measurements of their compositions & thicknesses. This article describes the materials used for coating (metal, oxides, nitrides etc), their main deposition techniques (chemical & physical) & the analytical methods used for their optical & chemical-physical characterization. Due to the growing complexity of deposited layers, it has become increasingly necessary to use a multi-analytical approach, especially when lacking information about the theoretical nominal composition of the coating analyzed. Thus, this article presents the advantages & limits of the main analytical techniques used today for these types of investigations.
