This year's nitride symposium showed the scope of nitride-related advances spanning basic materials physics over process technology to high-performance devices. Progress was reported in bulk growth of GaN and AlN, growth on various substrates and substrate orientations, optical properties of InN, defect and doping analysis of p-doped GaN, and polarization properties. These led to new performance records in visible light emitter technology, i.e., higher efficiency/higher brightness, UV emitters with shorter wavelength, and UV and photo detectors. Advances in the development of nitride-based electronic devices with new heterostructure FET designs for RF power applications, including those on Si substrates and wafer fusion, are also reported. This book captures the exciting developments in this rapidly progressing field. Topics include: epitaxy - devices and defect reduction; defects and characterization; epitaxy - nonpolar orientations and alloys; optical properties; UV emitters and detectors; visible light emitters; electronic devices; characterization of defects and transport; and contacts, processing and p-type nitrides.

The past decade has seen an explosive growth of interest in the physics of granular materials. Granular media are comprised of macroscopic objects with internal degrees of freedom. Granular assemblies exhibit phenomena that incorporate the properties of traditional solids, liquids and gases, making it a unique state. In many ways, the granular state is a generalized state of matter. This new volume from the Materials Research Society brings together researchers from many countries and disciplines to assess issues and problems concerned with the collective behavior of granular assemblies as encountered in the context of various applications. In particular, these applications include ceramic science, shock propagation and absorption, design and maintenance of stable natural and artificial structures, processing of pharmaceuticals, and self-assembly processes associated with the synthesis of ultrahigh-density magnetic tapes. The volume should be of value to researchers involved in exploring granular material-based technologies, and is expected to stimulate further research in this arena. Topics include: electromagnetic fields; structural issues; flow behavior; and dynamical problems.