The phrase "a small layer" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a thin or minor coating or stratum of material in various contexts, such as cooking, geology, or construction.
Example: "The cake was topped with a small layer of frosting, just enough to add sweetness without overwhelming the flavor."
Alternatives: "a thin layer" or "a light coating."
Each blast* vaporises a small layer of rock or soil that the ChemCam instrument can then analyse.
Chemical etching was carried out to eliminate a small layer of the damaged surface, while the saw marks were intentionally kept in order to generate fracture surface marks.
There was also a small layer of pride, generated by the compliments of the client, who had also worked with IMD MBA students last year.
I think there will be a small layer of change on top of these immense infrastructures of cities but we're not going to have flying cars, we're not going to have jetpacks, but there will be auto-driven cars.
"The real blunt facts of the situation," said John Connolly, Aftra's national president, "are that the only core opposition to this consolidation is among a small layer of people who are essentially the political outs in the Screen Actors Guild.
This was followed by the discovery of arms 600 metres (1970 feet) from the torso, placed side by side and covered with a small layer of soil, the Asahi newspaper reported.
Increasing the layer thickness from 12.4 to 26.3 μm decreases this effect, due to the greater molecular alignment for a smaller layer thickness.
SEM and XCT showed that nanograins are preserved after SPS throughout both oxide materials, while a smaller layer (~20 µm) of pure oxide phase with larger grains is formed in between Cu2O and ZnO during the sintering process.
The cormorants possess a layer of unique feathers that retain a smaller layer of air (compared to other diving birds) but otherwise soak up water.
The median tumor thickness at tumor normal interface was used to divide the patient group in a group with a larger and a smaller layer of vital tumor cells (Fig. 1).
After you have a base laid, you build a smaller layer on top of that, and a smaller layer on top of that, etc.
