The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners. This volume was first published in 1999.

Nanotechnology is a 'catch-all' description of activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications in the real world. A nanometre is a billionth of a meter, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Nanotechnology is now used in precision engineering, new materials development as well as in electronics; electromechanical systems as well as mainstream biomedical applications in areas such as gene therapy, drug delivery and novel drug discovery techniques. This book presents the latest research in this frontier field.

The study of interfaces is one of the oldest areas of research in materials science. The presence of grain boundaries in materials has long been recognized, as has its crucial role in determining mechanical properties. Another long-recognized concept is that the properties of a surface are quite different from those of the bulk. In recent years, researchers have been able to study these interfaces, both internal and external, with a detail not before possible. These advances have stemmed from the ability to obtain atomic resolution images of interfaces, to measure accurate chemical compositions of interfaces, and to model these interfaces and their properties. This volume goes a step further, beyond structural and chemical studies, to explore how all of this information can be used to engineer interfaces for improved properties and overall improved material performance. Significant attention is given to the crystallographic nature of grain boundaries and interfaces, and the relationship between this nature and the performance of a material. The versatility of electron back-scattering pattern analysis (EBSP) in solving a number of interface-related problems is also featured.