These instructions have been written specifically for the preparation of manuscripts submitted for publication in the Proceedings volumes of the ICMCTF. Therefore, they may differ slightly to those included in the "Guide for Authors" found on the Journal homepages [Surface & Coatings Technology (SCT) and Thin Solid Films (TSF)]. 

Types of contributions

• Contributed papers
• Invited papers

Submission of contributions

Authors have to submit their papers using the Elsevier Editorial System (EES). In submitting a manuscript for the conference proceedings, the author states: (i) it has not been published previously, (ii) it is not being simultaneously considered for publication elsewhere and, (iii) the authors have obtained the necessary authority for publication. 

Instructions to authors for manuscript preparation
 

a) Format of manuscripts

The manuscripts will be published in English. Authors' manuscripts must be consistent in style, spelling and syntax. Please note that unfortunately the Editorial Office does not have the facilities to provide language editing for papers, so if English is not your native language you are advised to ask an English speaking colleague (or co-worker) to check your paper or have it edited by a professional. Papers with poor English usage will not be published. The manuscripts should be submitted in double-spaced typing (not 1-1/2 spaced typing), 12 points Times font, on consecutively numbered pages of uniform size no greater than 21 x 30 cm with 3.0 cm margin on the left and 2.0 cm margins on top, bottom and right.

 
b) Organization of manuscripts (Each item should begin on a new page)

1. Manuscript cover page containing the following : paper number, title of paper, name, full mailing address, phone number, fax number and e-mail address of the corresponding author. This is followed by the list of keywords (maximum six keywords) and a table indicating the length of the manuscript (for preparation of this table, see "Manuscript length limitation").

2. Title page containing the following, centered, starting at the top : title, names, affiliations and addresses of all authors. This is followed by the abstract, left-justified and double-spaced, which must include a concise statement of results and conclusions. (Note that abstract may extend onto a second page if necessary, but should be limited to 300 words).

3. Text, double-spaced, which generally will consist of sections such as Introduction, Experimental, Results, Discussion, Conclusions.

4. List of references (single-space within a reference, double-space between references)

5. Tables, one per page (caption above each table, Roman numeral)

6. List of figure captions

7. Figures (without captions); just put figure number (Arabic numeral) at bottom. 

Manuscript length limitation

The length of manuscripts is limited to 4,000 words for a contributed paper and 6,000 words for an invited paper. Manuscripts exceeding these word limits will not be considered for publication in the proceedings volumes. These too long papers would be submitted for publication in SCT or TSF as regular papers. Under these circumstances, the papers will be evaluated by reviewers involved in the refereeing process of the journal.

The table on the manuscript cover page should indicate : (i) the number of words contained in the text, which includes the abstract and list of references (figure captions are not included), (ii) the number of figures (each figure including Fig.a, Fig.b, Fig.c, etc. must be counted separately) and the corresponding number of words (one figure or table corresponds to 150 words). Use the word count option in your word processor and make sure that you are within the word limit. 

References

The references should be numbered consecutively throughout the text and should be collected together in a reference list at the end of the paper. Authors should ensure that every reference appearing in the text is in the list of references and vice versa. In the text, numerals for references are given in square brackets [ ] full-size, not as superscripts; numerals referring to equations are enclosed in parentheses.

The following are examples of how references should be listed for (1) a journal article, (2) a book, and (3) a multi-author book such as a conference proceedings :

1.  R. Angers, M.R. Krishnadev, R. Tremblay, J.-F. Corriveau, and D. Dube, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 262 (1999) 9.

2.  A. Nadai, Theory of Flow and Fracture of Solids, Vol.1, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1950), p.350.

3.  R. Ferro, G. Zanicchi, and R. Marazza, in Ternary Alloys, ed. by G. Petzow and G. Effenberg, Vol.6 (VCH, Weinheim, 1992), p.318. 

Conference proceedings which are not published in archival journals can not be used as references. For PhD theses, provide the title, name of university, and year. A "personal communication" should be referred to only when permission has been obtained from the person who made the personal communication and should include the affiliation of the individual. A reference to "in the press" implies that the paper has been accepted for publication and must include the name or title of the publication. "Unpublished results" and oral presentations are not acceptable references. Each reference should be complete; thus, the use of ibid., idem., et al., etc. is not permitted. Abbreviations for the titles of journals should follow the system used by the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index and Supplements. 

Tables

Each table, regardless of how short, should be placed on a separate sheet of paper. They are to be numbered with Roman numerals, and should have captions which make their general meaning understandable without reference to the text. The units in which results are expressed should be given at the top of each column and should not be repeated on each line of the table. It should be remembered that the length of a printed page is always greater than its width. Tables printed sideways (landscape) should only be used in extraordinary circumstances. 

Figures

Figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals, with grouping of figures permitted and labeled with lower-case letters (e.g., figure 2a, 2b, etc.). If possible, graphs, schematics, spectra, etc. should be submitted in the actual size at which they should be published. The width of figures (in the actual size) would be less than 8 cm, which is the maximum width of columns in the journal. If necessary, the publisher may reduce the size of particular graphs, schematics, spectra for publication as appropriate. All letters and numbers in figures at the actual size should be at least 3 mm in height. Care should be taken in the use of computer-generated figures in that they often contain extraneous information or do not write exponents, subscripts, formulas, or symbols correctly (e.g., CR2O3 for chromium oxide on a figure is not acceptable). For micrographs, a scaled bar (sometimes called a micron marker) must be placed on the micrograph. Figure captions do not have to be placed on the figure; they should be provided on a separate sheet of paper.