The aim of this book is to present in one volume some of the most significant developments that have taken place in the field of integrated ferroelectrics during the last decade of the twentieth century. The book begins with a comprehensive introduction to integrated ferroelectrics and follows with fifty-three papers selected by Carlos Paz de Araujo, Orlando Auciello, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, and George W. Taylor. These fifty-three papers were selected from more than one thousand papers published over the last eleven years in the proceedings of the International Symposia on Integrated Ferroelectrics (ISIF). These papers were chosen on the basis that they (a) give a broad view of the advances that have been made and (b) indicate the future direction of research and technological development. Readers who wish for a more in-depth treatment of the subject are encouraged to refer to volumes 1 to 27 of Integrated Ferroelectrics, the main publication vehicle for papers in this field.

The impetus for the rapid development of thin film technology, relative to that of bulk materials, is its application to a variety of microelectronic products. Many of the characteristics of thin film ferroelectric materials are utilized in the development of these products - namely, their nonvolatile memory and piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and electro-optic properties. It is befitting, therefore, that the first of a set of three complementary books with the general title Integrated Ferroelectric Devices and Technologies focuses on the synthesis of thin film ferroelectric materials and their basic properties. Because it is a basic introduction to the chemistry, materials science, processing, and physics of the materials from which integrated ferroelectrics are made, newcomers to this field as well as veterans will find this book self-contained and invaluable in acquiring the diverse elements requisite to success in their work in this area. It is directed at electronic engineers and physicists as well as process and system engineers, ceramicists, and chemists involved in the research, design, development, manufacturing, and utilization of thin film ferroelectric materials.

The International Symposium was organized to capture the state of our knowledge on the science and technology of interfaces. The Symposium (in honor of Dr. B. B. Rath) was held during the TMS Annual meeting, Feb 17-21, 2002 at Seattle WA. This volume captures the salient papers presented at the symposium. The symposium was sponsored by the Structural Materials Division and the Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division of TMS and the Materials Science Critical Technology Sector of ASM International and in particular by the following committees: the Physical Metallurgy Committee (TMS), the Superconducting Materials Committee (TMS), the Titanium Committee (TMD) and the Mechanical Behavior of Materials Committee (TMS/ASM). The objective of this symposium was to present current research on advanced interface controlled materials with primary focus on advanced materials. Special attention was given to design of such interface controlled materials with their unique and highly desirable properties. The symposium was designed to assess the current status and to identify future directions of research, design and applications of the role of interfaces in nanostructured bulk solids, films and coatings as well as polycrystalline superconducting materials. Particular emphasis was placed on developing close interactions and fostering future collaborations among scientists and engineers from the USA, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, and other Asian countries.

Frontiers of Thin Film Technology, Volume 28 focuses on recent developments in those technologies that are critical to the successful growth, fabrication, and characterization of newly emerging solid-state thin film device architectures. Volume 28 is a condensed sampler of the Handbook for use by professional scientists, engineers, and students involved in the materials, design, fabrication, diagnostics, and measurement aspects of these important new devices.

Electroceramic thin films hold out the promise of applications in entirely new generations of advanced microdevices that may revolutionise technology, creating multibillion dollar markets in the process. Less glamorous than the high-temperature superconductors, but probably just as important, are electrically conductive, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, electro-optic, and magnetic films. The list of potential applications of films having these properties is virtually endless, but there are still some issues to be resolved before fully functioning devices reach the market. All these issues and more are discussed in Science and Technology of Electroceramic Thin Films, which provides one of the best, most up to date summaries of the field currently available.

The book consists of 5 parts: (1) ferroelectric thin films, (2) deposition and characterization methods, (3) fabrication process and circuit design, (4) advanced-type memories, and (5) applications and future prospects; each part is further divided into several chapters. Because of the wide range of topics discussed, each chapter in this book was written by one of the best authors knowing the specific topic very well.

The past five years have witnessed some dramatic developments in the general area of ferroelectric thin films materials and devices. Ferroelectrics are not new materials by any stretch ofimagination. Indeed, they have been known since the early partofthis century and popular ferroelectric materials such as Barium Titanate have been in use since the second world war. In the late sixties and seventies, a considerable amountofresearch and development effort was made to create a solid state nonvolatile memory using ferroelectrics in a vary simple matrix-addressed scheme. These attempts failed primarily due to problems associated with either the materials ordue to device architectures. The early eighties saw the advent of new materials processing approaches, such as sol-gel processing, that enabled researchers to fabricate sub-micron thin films of ferroelectric materials on a silicon substrate. These pioneering developments signaled the onsetofa revival in the areaofferroelectric thin films, especially ferroelectric nonvolatile memories. Research and development effort in ferroelectric materials and devices has now hit a feverish pitch, Many university laboratories, national laboratories and advanced R&D laboratories oflarge IC manufacturers are deeply involved in the pursuit of ferroelectric device technologies. Many companies worldwide are investing considerable manpower and resources into ferroelectric technologies. Some have already announced products ranging from embedded memories in micro controllers, low density stand-alone memories, microwave circuit elements, andrf identification tags. There is now considerable optimism that ferroelectric devices andproducts will occupy a significant market-share in the new millennium.