Significant advances have been made towards understanding the properties of materials through theoretical approaches. These approaches are based either on first-principles quantum mechanical formulations or semi-empirical formulations, and have benefitted from increases in computational power. The advent of parallel computing has propelled the theoretical approaches to a new level of realism in modelling physical systems of interest. The theoretical methods and simulation techniques that are cur- rently under development are certain to become powerful tools in understanding, exploring and predicting the properties of existing and novel materials. This book discusses critically current developments in computations and simulational approaches specifically aimed at addressing real materials problems, with an emphasis on parallel computing and shows the most successful applications of computational and simulational work to date. Topics include: advances in computational methods; parallel algorithms and applications; fracture, brittle/ductile behavior and large-scale defects; thermodynamic stability of materials; surfaces and interfaces of materials; and complex materials simulations.

Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). Superplastic forming (SPF) has come a long way from its relatively recent history of being of interest only to the aerospace and aeronautical industries, and has made rapid inroads into applications in the automotive, rail, architectural, sports, dental and entertainment sectors.

It is common practice today to use the term "alloy" in connection with specific classes of materials, with prominence given to metals and semiconductors. However, there is good justification for considering alloys in a unified manner based on properties rather than types of materials because, after all, to alloy means to mix. The scientific aspects of mixing together different materials has a very long history going back to early attempts to understand and control materials behavior for the service of mankind. The case for using the scientific term "alloy" to mean any material consisting of more than one element can be based on the following two considerations. First, many alloys are mixtures of metallic, semiconducting, and/or insulating materials, and the properties of an alloy, i.e., metallic, semiconducting, or insulating, are often functions of composition and of external conditions, such as temperature and pressure. Second, and most importantly, in attempting to understand the various properties of materials, whether physical, chemical, or mechanical,one is apt to use the terminology and experimental, formal, and computational methods in their study that transcend the type of material being studied.

While the effects of spontaneous ordering or composition modulation on the properties of semiconductors and optoelectronic devices have been studied with great interest over the past several years, an understanding of the physics and chemistry of these two related phenomena is still in its infancy. This book brings together researchers from around the world to address issues concerning the physics, chemistry and growth parameters for spontaneous ordering and composition modulation. Developments in the use of artificial patterning to obtain new structured materials on a microscopic scale are featured. Advances in characterization techniques are also presented. Topics include: spontaneous ordering; self-assembled structures and quantum dots; self-organized epitaxial structures; composition modulation studies and optoelectronic materials.

At present, there is an increasing interest in the prediction of properties of classical and new materials such as substitutional alloys, their surfaces, and metallic or semiconductor multilayers. A detailed understanding based on a thus of the utmost importance for fu microscopic, parameter-free approach is ture developments in solid state physics and materials science. The interrela tion between electronic and structural properties at surfaces plays a key role for a microscopic understanding of phenomena as diverse as catalysis, corrosion, chemisorption and crystal growth. Remarkable progress has been made in the past 10-15 years in the understand ing of behavior of ideal crystals and their surfaces by relating their properties to the underlying electronic structure as determined from the first principles. Similar studies of complex systems like imperfect surfaces, interfaces, and mul tilayered structures seem to be accessible by now. Conventional band-structure methods, however, are of limited use because they require an excessive number of atoms per elementary cell, and are not able to account fully for e.g. substitu tional disorder and the true semiinfinite geometry of surfaces. Such problems can be solved more appropriately by Green function techniques and multiple scattering formalism.

III-V semiconductors have continued to find new applications in optical data transmission, full-color displays, automotive electronics and personal communication systems. Complex epitaxial growth, processing, device design and circuit architecture are all necessary for realization of these elements. This book brings together the diverse group of scientists and researchers that are required to develop the next-generation devices. The wide bandgap nitrides, GaN, AlN, InN and their alloys are featured. The commercial availability of blue- and green-light-emitting diodes based on the InGaN/AlGaN system, and the recent announcement of pulsed operation of a laser diode, have stimulated interest in the growth, characterization and processing of these materials. Potential applications in high-temperature/high-power electronics appear promising because of the good transport properties of these nitrides. Topics include: growth and characterization; photonics and processing; electronics and processing; wide bandgap semiconductors and novel devices and processing.