The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners.

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

Proceedings of the December 1996 symposium. Contains 159 papers which describe materials advances involving stuctures spanning more than five orders of magnitude in size--from Group IV molecular clusters to single-crystal grains large enough for fabrication of thin-film transistors within their boundaries. Sections cover topics such as the theory of semiconductor molecular clusters and nanocrystals; luminescent Group IV clusters/nanocrystals and quantum wells; semiconductor systems confined in three and one dimensions; Group III- V, Group II-VI, and metal sulfide, iodide, and oxide nanocrystals; porous silicon; applications of nanocrystal and porous semiconductors; light-emitting properties and applications of porous Si; and research results on the nano-, micro-, and polycrystalline thin films. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Controlling the properties of materials by modifying their composition and by manipulating the arrangement of atoms and molecules is a dream that can be achieved by nanotechnology. As one of the fastest developing and innovative -- as well as well-funded -- fields in science, nanotechnology has already significantly changed the research landscape in chemistry, materials science, and physics, with numerous applications in consumer products, such as sunscreens and water-repellent clothes. It is also thanks to this multidisciplinary field that flat panel displays, highly efficient solar cells, and new biological imaging techniques have become reality. This second, enlarged edition has been fully updated to address the rapid progress made within this field in recent years. Internationally recognized experts provide comprehensive, first-hand information, resulting in an overview of the entire nano-micro world. In so doing, they cover aspects of funding and commercialization, the manufacture and future applications of nanomaterials, the fundamentals of nanostructures leading to macroscale objects as well as the ongoing miniaturization toward the nanoscale domain. Along the way, the authors explain the effects occurring at the nanoscale and the nanotechnological characterization techniques. An additional topic on the role of nanotechnology in energy and mobility covers the challenge of developing materials and devices, such as electrodes and membrane materials for fuel cells and catalysts for sustainable transportation. Also new to this edition are the latest figures for funding, investments, and commercialization prospects, as well as recent research programs and organizations.

Amorphous silicon solar cell technology has evolved considerably since the first amorphous silicon solar cells were made at RCA Laboratories in 1974. Scien tists working in a number of laboratories worldwide have developed improved alloys based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon. Other scientists have developed new methods for growing these thin films while yet others have developed new photovoltaic (PV) device structures with im proved conversion efficiencies. In the last two years, several companies have constructed multi-megawatt manufacturing plants that can produce large-area, multijunction amorphous silicon PV modules. A growing number of people be lieve that thin-film photovoltaics will be integrated into buildings on a large scale in the next few decades and will be able to make a major contribution to the world's energy needs. In this book, Ruud E. I. Schropp and Miro Zeman provide an authoritative overview of the current status of thin film solar cells based on amorphous and microcrystalline silicon. They review the significant developments that have occurred during the evolution of the technology and also discuss the most im portant recent innovations in the deposition of the materials, the understanding of the physics, and the fabrication and modeling of the devices.

This book includes within its scope studies of the structural, electrical, optical and acoustical properties of bulk, low-dimensional and amorphous semiconductors; computational semiconductor physics; interface properties, including the physics and chemistry of heterojunctions, metal-semiconductor and insulator-semiconductor junctions; all multi-layered structures involving semiconductor components. Dopant incorporation. Growth and preparation of materials, including both epitaxial (e.g. molecular beam and chemical vapour methods) and bulk techniques; in situ monitoring of epitaxial growth processes, also included are appropriate aspects of surface science such as the influence of growth kinetics and chemical processing on layer and device properties. The physics of semiconductor electronic and optoelectronic devices are examined , including theoretical modelling and experimental demonstration; all aspects of the technology of semiconductor device and circuit fabrication. Relevant areas of 'molecular electronics' and semiconductor structures incorporating Langmuir-Blodgett films; resists, lithography and metallisation where they are concerned with the definition of small geometry structure. The structural, electrical and optical characterisation of materials and device structures are also included. The scope encompasses materials and device reliability: reliability evaluation of technologies; failure analysis and advanced analysis techniques such as SEM, E-beam, optical emission microscopy, acoustic microscopy techniques; liquid crystal techniques; noise measurement, reliability prediction and simulation; reliability indicators; failure mechanisms, including charge migration, trapping, oxide breakdown, hot carrier effects, electro-migration, stress migration; package- related failure mechanisms; effects of operational and environmental stresses on reliability.