Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). This book comprises the over 100 contributions that were presented at the International Conference on Polycrystalline Semiconductors which took place from September 10 to 13, 2002, in Nara, Japan.

In terms of structure, the field of semiconductors spans a wide range, from the perfect order of single crystals to the non-periodic, disordered amorph ous state. The two extremes of this range attract a large amount of inter est. On one side, glamorous novel phenomena are being found which can only occur in specially tailored ultra-perfect periodic lattices. On the other side, the exotic and challenging nature of the amorphous state has triggered a surge of activity in recent years. Po1ycrystall i ne semi conductors are in between. They are among the work horses in the field, useful in many applications, a handy solution to many practical problems and still - they have not received in the past the amount of research interest that they deserve. It is the aim of the present book to improve this situation. The book originated from the lectures and seminars presented at the course on "Po1ycrystall i ne Semi conductors - Physical Properties and Applications" of "the International School on Materials Scien ce and Technology, hel d at the Centre for Sci entifi c Culture "Ettore Majorana" in Erice, Italy, July 1-15, 1984.

This book summarizes the most recent aspects of polycrystalline semiconductors as presented at the conference Polycrystalline Semiconductors - Grain Boundaries and Interfaces. It contains 12 review articles on selected topics written by experts in their fields and 41 complementary contributed papers. The structure, chemistry and physics of grain boundaries and other interfaces are experimentally and theoretically studied. Aspects of the technologically important polycrystalline silicon are discussed in detail. Also covered are other polycrystalline semiconductors, germanium and compound semiconductors, that are currently of interest in fundamental research and in the technology of solar cells and thin film devices. Anyone interested in polycrystalline semiconductors will be able to use this comprehensive collection to advantage. It also suggests directions for new research and development.

This book contains papers that were presented at the International Conference on Polycrystalline Semiconductors - Grain Boundaries, Dislocations and Het erointerfaces - (POLYSE '90), which was held in Schwabisch Hall, FRG, from July 30 to August 3, 1990. This conference was a satellite conference of the 20th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors. POLYSE '90, like its predecessor POLYSE '88, brought together scientists from research in stitutions and industrial laboratories with a view to bridging the gap between fundamental and technological aspects of polycrystalline semiconductors. With this aim, a total of 14 recognized scientists from universities and in dustry were invited to review their fields of interest. The expert presentations of these scientists were complemented by contributed papers and poster con tributions, the authors of which were additionally allowed four minutes for an oral summary. This combination of different types of presentation led to very lively and stimulating discussions.