The global market for thin film materials decreased from nearly $9.9 billion in 2014 to close to $9.8 billion in 2015, and it is estimated to remain stable, overall, throughout 2016.

Electronics represents the largest application for thin film materials. With estimated global sales of $4.2 billion in 2016, the electronics sector accounts for 43.0% of the total market for thin film materials (Table 1). The second largest application is the mechanical/chemical sector, which includes protective coatings. Sales of these materials are estimated to reach over $1.7 billion in 2016 (or 17.6% of the total market).