einschichtiger

Einschichtiger is a German adjective meaning consisting of a single layer or forming one layer only. It derives from eins- (one) and Schicht (layer) and is used in technical and scientific contexts to describe structures, coatings, or surfaces that have no intervening additional layers. The form is inflected to reflect gender, number, and case (for example: ein einschichtiger Film, eine einschichtige Epithelschicht, ein einschichtiges Material).

In coatings and surface science, einschichtiger describes films or coatings applied as a single layer without multilayer stacking. In biology and medicine, einschichtige Epithelien refer to tissues composed of a single cell layer, in contrast to mehrschichtige (multilayer) epithelia. In cell culture, the term can appear as Einschichtkultur to denote cells grown as a monolayer on a substrate. In materials science and chemistry, it is common to specify whether a film, layer, or coating is einschichtig or mehrschichtig, with the English equivalent often being monolayer for a true one-molecule-thick layer.

Related terms include mehrschichtig (multilayer) and einschichtig- synonyms or loanwords such as Monolayer, which is frequently used in discussions of two-dimensional materials and single-layer films. The concept of einschichtiger Aufbau or einschichtige Strukturen emphasizes the absence of inner layering, which can influence properties like diffusion, adhesion, and optical behavior.