The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposia ¿Tutorials in Nanotechnology: Focus on Luminescence and Display Materials¿, ¿Luminescence and Energy Efficiency¿, and ¿ Physics and Chemistry of Luminescence and Display Materials¿ held during the 218th meeting of The Electrochemical Society, in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 10 to 15, 2010.

Luminescence, for example, as fluorescence, bioluminescence, and phosphorescence, can result from chemical changes, electrical energy, subatomic motions, reactions in crystals, or stimulation of an atomic system. This subject continues to have a major technological role for humankind in the form of applications such as organic and inorganic light emitters for flat panel and flexible displays such as plasma displays, LCD displays, and OLED displays. Luminescent Materials and Applications describes a wide range of materials and applications that are of current interest including organic light emitting materials and devices, inorganic light emitting diode materials and devices, down-conversion materials, nanomaterials, and powder and thin-film electroluminescent phosphor materials and devices. In addition, both the physics and the materials aspects of the field of solid-state luminescence are presented. Thus, the book may be used as a reference to gain an understanding of various types and mechanisms of luminescence and of the implementation of luminescence into practical devices. The book is aimed at postgraduate students (physicists, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, materials scientists, and engineers) and researchers in industry, for example, at lighting and display companies and academia involved in studying conduction in solids and electronic materials. It will also provide an excellent starting point for all scientists interested in luminescent materials. Finally it is hoped that this book will not only educate, but also stimulate further progress in this rapidly evolving field.

Everyone starting work in this field is faced with the lack of basic books. Here, two renowned researchers introduce the reader to luminescence and its applications, describing the principles of the luminescence processes in a clear way and dealing not only with physics, but also with the chemistry of systems. Particular attention is paid to materials such as lamp phosphors, cathode-ray and X-ray phosphors, scintillators and many other applications.

Luminescent materials with advanced performance are in the research hot spot with the recent technical developments of the display, lighting, and fluorescence labeling. Rare-earth-doped luminescent materials have been the focus of the research community owing to their wide applications in display devices, temperature sensors, solar cells, biomedical fields, optoelectronics, etc. This book covers the broad aspects of organic and inorganic materials based phosphors. The purpose of this book is to provide an up-to-date account of the present status and advancement of various techniques of synthesis of luminescent materials and their advanced applications in different areas. This book will cover all the experimental and theoretical approaches related to the rare-earth-doped luminescent materials. It also contains all the necessary information about the rare-earth-doped luminescent materials that were used in the past few years. In a nutshell, this book provides a unique platform to the newcomers who are planning to do research on rare-earthdoped luminescent materials as well as the researchers who are well established in this field.

This new book highlights the link between the luminescence phenomena of phosphors used in different displays. Both fluorescence (used in display phosphors) and phosphorescence (used in after glow phosphors and storage phosphors) mechanisms and the efforts made in phosphor synthesis to reduce the interference of one on another are dealt with in detail.

In this, the only up-to-date book on this key technology, the number-one expert in the field perfectly blends academic knowledge and industrial applications. Adopting a didactical approach, Professor Ronda discusses all the underlying principles, such that both researchers as well as beginners in the field will profit from this book. The focus is on the inorganic side and the phenomena of luminescence behind the manifold applications illustrated here, including displays, LEDs, lamps, and medical applications. Valuable reading for chemists and electrochemists, as well as materials scientists, those working in the optical and chemical industry, plus lamp and lighting manufacturers.