Thin films (coatings) are at the core of many industries, including microelectronics, optoelectronics, renewable energy, and protective coatings. My research work in this group can be divided into the following two categories:

(i) Deposition and characterization of thin films: Deposition was carried out using physical vapor deposition (thermal and e-beam evaporation), magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, and spin coating. The investigated materials were mainly metals and semiconductors. The structural and chemical properties were studied using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Special emphasis was devoted to the optical properties, which were determined using the spectrophotometric method.

(ii) Applications of thin films: I have focused on four applications of thin films, namely energy-efficient coatings, photovoltaic materials, transparent conductors, and gas sensors.

I have published or participated in 75 peer-reviewed journal papers.

I was appointed as the director of the Energy Research Center for three years (2004–2007).

Since 2005, I have been the coordinator of the thin films and materials group where I have managed the group activities and needs.

I have supervised ten physics graduate students: seven at the master level and three at the PhD level. I have introduced them into the important field of experimental condensed matter physics and geared their work toward applications. I have guided them throughout their experimental work and have also enhanced their analytical capabilities for data interpretation and presentation. More importantly, the students received a vast experience searching and getting confidence in the literature related to their research.