This book is about thin films; what they are, how they are prepared, how they are characterized, and what they are used for. The contents of this book not only showcase the diversity of thin films, but also reveals the commonality among the work performed in a variety of areas. The chapters in this volume are based on invited papers presented by prominent researchers in the field at a Symposium on "Thin Films: Preparation, Characterization, Applications" at the 221st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society held in San Diego, California. The coverage of the symposium was extensive; topics ranged from highly-ordered metal adlayers on well-defined electrode surfaces to bio-organic films on non-metallic nanoparticles. An objective of this book is for the readers to be able to draw from the experience and results of others in order to improve and expand the understanding of the science and technology of their own thin films systems.

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

This title covers fundemental concepts, properties and applicabilities of metals and alloys for use in various metallization schemes. Metallizations form the key components on electronic circuits - controlling device properties and providing power and device interconnections with the outside world or with other devices. The recent advent of submicron dimensions and increasingly faster devices in the semiconductor have challenged researchers to keep metallization schemes in line with new demanding requirements.

Introduction to Epitaxy provides the essential information for a comprehensive upper-level graduate course treating the crystalline growth of semiconductor heterostructures. Heteroepitaxy represents the basis of advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices today and is considered one of the top fields in materials research. The book covers the structural and electronic properties of strained epitaxial layers, the thermodynamics and kinetics of layer growth, and the description of the major growth techniques metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, molecular beam epitaxy and liquid phase epitaxy. Cubic semiconductors, strain relaxation by misfit dislocations, strain and confinement effects on electronic states, surface structures and processes during nucleation and growth are treated in detail. The Introduction to Epitaxy requires only little knowledge on solid-state physics. Students of natural sciences, materials science and electrical engineering as well as their lecturers benefit from elementary introductions to theory and practice of epitaxial growth, supported by pertinent references and over 200 detailed illustrations.

An in-depth look at the state of the art of in situ real-time monitoring and analysis of thin films With thin film deposition becoming increasingly critical in the production of advanced electronic and optical devices, scientists and engineers working in this area are looking for in situ, real-time, structure-specific analytical tools for characterizing phenomena occurring at surfaces and interfaces during thin film growth. This volume brings together contributed chapters from experts in the field, covering proven methods for in situ real-time analysis of technologically important materials such as multicomponent oxides in different environments. Background information and extensive references to the current literature are also provided. Readers will gain a thorough understanding of the growth processes and become acquainted with both emerging and more established methods that can be adapted for in situ characterization. Methods and their most useful applications include: * Low-energy time-of-flight ion scattering and direct recoil spectroscopy (TOF-ISRAS) for studying multicomponent oxide film growth processes * Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) for determining the nature of chemical reactions at film surfaces * Spectrometric ellipsometry (SE) for use in the analysis of semiconductors and other multicomponent materials * Reflectance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy for monitoring epitaxial growth processes * X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for studying surface and interface structures * And other cost-effective techniques for industrial application