This review addresses the current state-of-the-art in the physics of amorphous materials and its practical applications. Because of the keen interest in these new technological innovations in the amorphous material application fields, particular emphasis has been placed on some important basic knowledge and current topics in the application fields which inlude information directly useful to scientists and R&D engineers in industry, institutes and university laboratories.

The aim of this NATO ASI has been to present an up-to-date overview of current areas of interest in amorphous materials, with particular emphasis on electronic properties and device applications. In order to limit the material to a manageable amount, the meeting was concerned almost exclusively with semiconducting materials. This volume should be regarded as a follow-on to the NATO ASI held in Sozopol, Bulgaria in 1996 and published as "Amorphous Insulators and Semiconductors" edited by M.F. Thorpe and M.1. Mitkova (Kluwer Academic Publishers, NATO ASI series, 3 High Technology - Vol. 23). The lectures and seminars fill the gap between graduate courses and research seminars. The lecturers and seminar speakers were chosen as experts in their respective areas, and the lectures and seminars that were given are presented in this volume. During the first week of the meeting, an emphasis was placed on introductory lectures while the second week focused more on research seminars. There were two very good poster sessions that generated a lot of discussion, but these are not reproduced in this volume as the editors wanted to have only larger contributions to make the proceedings more coherent.

Provides a summary of non-equilibrium glassy and amorphous structures and their macro- and microscopic thermal properties. The book contains a carefully selected works of fourteen internationally recognized scientists involving the advances of the physics and chemistry of the glassy and amorphous states.

Glass ••• Current Issues is the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife between the 2nd and 13th April 1984. The objectives of the School were twofold. Firstly to inform participants of actual and developing technolog ical applications of glassy materials in which fundamental science makes a strong contribution, and secondly to bring together scientists from the widely different backgrounds of glass science and technology to promote mutual understanding and collaboration. The amorphous state has for more than a decade now been a renaissance of scientific and technological activity extending beyond traditional glass technology research. Striking developments of amorphous materials have been made in fields such as metallurgy, electronics and telecommunications and even in disciplines until recently less concerned by materials science, such as colloid chemistry, medicine and agriculture. The physical and chemical properties brought into application here result from the interaction between the glass composition and its non-crystalline structure. One role of the basic research is to understand this interaction, which in time through development, helps to extend the range of properties and applications. In this meeting we hoped to sensitize participants to the vast range of applications of amorphous materials which exploit their unique properties, and thus broaden future investigation. The program was organised around seven topics, signposts of scientific and technological activity in the 1980'S: optical materials, amorphous metals, crystallisation phenomena, electronic and electrical devices, sol-gel preparative methods, composite materials and long-term applications.

Amorphous and nanocrystalline materials are a class of their own. Their properties are quite different to those of the corresponding crystalline materials. This book gives systematic insight into their physical properties, structure, behaviour, and design for special advanced applications.

This is a useful textbook for graduate students in the fields of solid state physics and chemistry as well as electronic engineering. Presenting the fundamentals of amorphous semiconductors clearly, it will be essential reading for young scientists intending to develop new preparation techniques for more ideal amorphous semiconductors e.g. a-Si:H, to fabricate stable and efficient solar cells and thin film transistors and new artificial amorphous materials such as multilayers for quantum devices.A large portion is devoted to the latest developments of amorphous semiconductors including electronic properties of a-Si:H, nature of weak bonds and gap states in a-Si:H, mechanisms for light-induced defect creation in a-Si:H and chalcogenides, quantum phenomena in multilayer films.

From weather-proof tires and artificial hearts to the o-rings and valve seals that enable successful space exploration, rubber is an indispensable component of modern civilization. Stiff competition and stringent application requirements foster continuous challenges requiring manufacturers to fund ever-expanding research projects. However, this vas