The participation of such diverse scientific and technical disciplines as meteorology, astronomy, atmospheric electricity, ionospheric and magnetospheric physics, electromagnetic wave propagation, and radio techniques in the research of atmospherics means that results are published in scientific papers widely spread throughout the literature. This Handbook collects the latest knowledge on atmospherics and presents it in two volumes. Each chapter is written by an expert in his or her field. Topics include the physics of thunderclouds, thunder, global atmospheric electric currents, biological aspects of sferics, and various space techniques for detecting lightning within our own atmosphere as well as in the atmospheres of other planets. Up-to-date applications and methodology are detailed. Volumes I and II offer a comprehensive discussion that together will serve as an important resource for practitioners, professionals, and students alike.

Bent-Shaped Liquid Crystals: Structures and Physical Properties provides insight into the latest developments in the research on liquid crystals formed by bent-shaped mesogens. After a historical introduction, the expert authors discuss different kinds of mesophase structures formed by bent-shaped molecules. This book devotes the majority of its pages to physical properties such as polar switching, optics and non-linear optics, and behavior in restricted geometries. However, as chemistry is often highly relevant to the emergence of new phases, particularly with reflection symmetry breaking, it also involves a broad spectrum of interesting chemistry viewpoints.

Physics of Fluids in Microgravity provides a clear view of the latest research and progress in the different fields of fluid research in space at the beginning of the International Space Station Era. The topics presented include bubbles and drops dynamics, Marangoni flows, diffusion and thermodiffusion, solidification and crystal growth. The results obtained so far are, in some cases, to be confirmed by extensive research activities on the International Space Station, where basic and applied microgravity experimentation will take place in the years to come.

Tremendous technological developments and rapid progress in theory have opened a new area of modern physics called high-field electrodynamics: the systematic study of the interaction of relativistic electrons or positrons with ultrahigh-intensity, coherent electromagnetic radiation.

This advanced undergraduate/graduate-level text provides a detailed introduction to high-field electrodynamics, from its fundamentals to some of its important modern applications. The author describes a broad collection of theoretical techniques, and where possible, approaches derivations by at least two different routes to yield deeper physical insight and a wider range of mathematical and physical techniques. He also discusses some of the outstanding ramifications of electrodynamics in areas ranging from quantum optics, squeezed states, and the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox to rotating black holes, non-Abelian gauge field theories, and the Bohm-Aharanov effect.

High-Field Electrodynamics gives a comprehensive description of the theoretical tools needed to approach this novel discipline. It highlights important modern applications and serves as a starting point for more advanced and specialized research at the frontiers of modern physics.

Structural and Morphological Evolution in Metal-Organic Films and Multilayers presents major results of the authors' work carried out on Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers. The authors address two important questions: Are metal-organic monolayer systems more like solids or more like liquids? Does a two-dimensional system have different kind of bonds than a bulk or three-dimensional body? The book reveals the richness hidden in these supposedly well-known systems, including saturated, aliphatic fatty acids. It examines the mechanisms behind the growth of monolayers and multilayers of the molecules primarily from a physicist's point of view. The authors highlight the relationship between molecular structure and domain structure as well as the various physical properties. The book also explores the interplay between physics and chemistry in metal ions.

Failure Mechanisms in Semiconductor Devices Second Edition E. Ajith Amerasekera Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas, USA Farid N. Najm University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Since the successful first edition of Failure Mechanisms in Semiconductor Devices, semiconductor technology has become increasingly important. The high complexity of today's integrated circuits has engendered a demand for greater component reliability. Reflecting the need for guaranteed performance in consumer applications, this thoroughly updated edition includes more detailed material on reliability modelling and prediction. The book analyses the main failure mechanisms in terms of cause, effects and prevention and explains the mathematics behind reliability analysis. The authors detail methodologies for the identification of failures and describe the approaches for building reliability into semiconductor devices. Their thorough yet accessible text covers the physics of failure mechanisms from the semiconductor die itself to the packaging and interconnections. Incorporating recent advances, this comprehensive survey of semiconductor reliability will be an asset to both engineers and graduate students in the field.

The first book to deal with the design and optimization of transistors made from strained layers, Applications of Silicon-Germanium Heterostructure Devices combines three distinct topics-technology, device design and simulation, and applications-in a comprehensive way. Important aspects of the book include key technology issues for the growth of strained layers, background theory of the HBT, how device simulation can be used to predict the optimum HBT device structure for a particular application such as cryogenics, compact SiGe-HBT models for RF applications and the SPICE parameter extraction, and strategies for the enhancement of the high-frequency performance of heterojunction field effect transistors (HFETs) using MOSFET or MODFET structures. The book also covers the design and application of optoelectronic devices and assesses how SiGe technology competes with other alternative technologies in the RF wireless communications marketplace.

Methods and the latest results of experimental studies of the strength properties, polymorphism and metastable states of materials and substances with extremely short durations of shock-wave action are presented. The author provides a comprehensive and theoretical description of specific features of the dynamics of elastoplastic shock compression waves in relaxing media. The presentation is preceded by a detailed description of the theoretical foundations of the method and a brief discussion of the basic methods of generating and diagnosing shock waves in solids. Key Selling Features: Addresses dynamic elastic-plastic response, spallation, and shock-induced phase transformation. Provides a centralized presentation of topics of interest to the shock physics community Presents new data on the mechanism and basic patterns of sub-microsecond polymorphic transformations and phase transitions. Investigates destruction waves in shock-compressed glasses. Analyzes the behavior of highly hard brittle materials under shock-wave loading and ways to diagnose fracture.

The topics discussed in this text range from quasi-static problems to dynamic problems, and are divided into 15 groups, such as: cohesion/cracking; wave propagation; and quasi-static behaviour. Each group contains theoretical, experimental and computational approaches by researchers.

Neutrons, which are a penetrating yet non destructive probe, are ideally suited to studying the structure, organisation and motion of molecules responsible for the physical properties of materials under a variety of conditions. Applications are in fields as diverse as colloid and polymer science, earth sciences, pharmaceutics, biology and engineering.
This book will be of interest to both present and potential future users of neutron sources working in these areas, as both a useful reference and a comprehensive overview.

This book discusses the latest investigations into the electronic structure of narrow-gap semiconductors in extreme conditions, and describes in detail magnetic field and pressure measurements using two high-quality single crystals: black phosphorus (BP) and lead telluride (PbTe). The book presents two significant findings for BP and PbTe. The first is the successful demonstration of the pressure-induced transition from semiconductor to semimetal in the electronic structure of BP using magnetoresistance measurements. The second is the quantitative estimation of how well the Dirac fermion description works for electronic properties in PbTe. The overviews on BP and PbTe from the point of view of material properties help readers quickly understand the typical electronic character of narrow-gap semiconductor materials, which has recently attracted interest in topological features in condensed matter physics. Additionally the introductory review of the principles and methodology allows readers to understand the high magnetic field and pressure experiments.

Ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures is currently one of the most exciting areas of research in condensed-matter physics. Remarkable recent progress in the generation of tunable femtosecond pulses has allowed direct investigation of the most fundamental dynamical processes in semiconductors. This second edition presents the most striking recent advances in the techniques of ultrashort pulse generation and ultrafast spectroscopy; it discusses the physics of relaxation, tunneling and transport dynamics in semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures following excitation by femtosecond laser pulses.

Structure- and Adatom-Enriched Essential Properties of Graphene Nanoribbons offers a systematic review of the feature-rich essential properties in emergent graphene nanoribbons, covering mainstream theoretical and experimental research. It includes a wide range of 1D systems; namely, armchair and zigzag graphene nanoribbons with and without hydrogen terminations, curved and zipped graphene nanoribbons, folded graphene nanoribbons, carbon nanoscrolls, bilayer graphene nanoribbons, edge-decorated graphene nanoribbons, and alkali-, halogen-, Al-, Ti, and Bi-absorbed graphene nanoribbons. Both multiorbital chemical bondings and spin arrangements, which are responsible for the diverse phenomena, are explored in detail. First-principles calculations are developed to thoroughly describe the physical, chemical, and material phenomena and concise images explain the fundamental properties. This book examines in detail the application and theory of graphene nanoribbons, offering a new perspective on up-to-date mainstream theoretical and experimental research.

""Density Waves in Solids" is written for graduate students and scientists interested in solid-state sciences. It discusses the theoretical and experimental state of affairs of two novel types of broken symmetry ground states of metals, charge, and spin density waves. These states arise as the consequence of electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions in low-dimensional metals.Some fundamental aspects of the one-dimensional electron gas, and of the materials with anisotropic properties, are discussed first. This is followed by the mean field theory of the phases transitions--discussed using second quantized formalism--together with the various experimental observations on the transition and on the ground states. Fluctuation effects and the collective excitations are reviewed next, using the Ginzburg-Landau formalism, followed by the review of the interaction of these states with the underlying lattice and with impurities. The final chapters are devoted to the response of the ground states to external perturbations.

Materials where electrons show nearly localized rather than itinerant behaviour, such as the high-temperature superconducting copper oxides, or manganate oxides, are attracting tremendous interest due to their interesting physical properties and potential applications. For these materials, the interaction between electrons, or electron correlation, plays an important role in describing their electronic structure, and the standard methods for the calculation of their electronic spectra based on the local density approximation (LDA) breakdown. This book is an attempt to describe the electronic structure of narrow-band materials. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the methods of LDA+U, the GW approximation, the local spin density approximation, the self-interaction correction approximation, and the optimized effective potential method, and should be a useful source for graduate students and researchers working in all aspects of solid state physics.

Beginning with an introduction to the T-product approach in the theory of a particle interacting with bosonic fields as applied, for example, to the linearized polaron model, the book goes on to deal with the equilibrium state investigation for the Fr lich polaron model, the main objective being to derive Bogolubov's inequality for the reduced free energy of the polaron. The third chapter deals with some problems related to the non-equilibrium polaron theory, including polaron kinetics. Finally, alternative methods used in polaron theory are also presented and compared with Bogolubov's method.

Many books and reviews about scanning probe microscopies (SPM) cover the basics of their performance, novel developments, and state-of-the-art applications. Taking a different approach, Hybridizing Surface Probe Microscopies: Towards a Full Description of the Meso- and Nanoworlds encompasses the technical efforts in combining SPM with spectroscopic and optical complementary techniques that, altogether, provide a complete description of nanoscale and mesoscale systems and processes from corrosion to enzymatic reactions. The book is organized into eight chapters, following a general scheme that revolves around the two main capabilities of SPM: imaging and measuring interactions. Each chapter introduces key theoretical concepts and basic equations of the particular stand-alone technique with which the scanning probe microscopies are combined. Chapters end with the SPM-technique combination and some real-world examples in which the combination has been devised or used. Most chapters include a historical review of the techniques and numerous illustrations to support key ideas and provide the reader with intuitive understanding. To understand the limitations of any technique also means to understand how this technique works. This book has devoted a considerable amount of space in explaining the basics of each technique as they are being introduced. At the same time, it avoids explaining the particularities of each SPM-based technique and opts for a rather generalized approach. In short, the book's focus is not on what SPM can do, but rather on what SPM cannot do and, most specifically, on presenting the experimental approaches that circumvent these limitations.

Even at the beginning of the new millenium the rare earths still remain, to a certain extent, a mystery. The chapters in this volume will help to unravel some of these. In the filling of the 4f electronic orbitals the lanthanides defy the elementary aufbau principle that underlies the periodic sequence of the elements, and the authors of the first chapter introduce the readers to the basic physics of the orbital collapse leading to that failure. Furthermore an explanation is offered in terms of double-well potentials. The phenomenon is illustrated using the valence transitions observed in some of the rare earth atoms, including Sm group metals and the higher oxides of cerium, praseodymium and terbium. In the second chapter the synthesis and structure of the many types of rare earth halides are described. They have been described as simple, complex, binary, ternary and multinuclear complex, and other categories needed to deal with the most studied of the rare earth compounds. The structure types are skillfully illustrated to show the elementary architecture of each type.
In chapter three the authors discuss the science and applications of rare earth super ionic conductors as solid electrolytes. Conduction by oxygen and fluorine anions as well as hydrogen and other cations associated with these electrolytes is emphasized. They deal with extrinsic and intrinsic types together with their associated structures and structural types including structural defects. The chapter concludes with an outline of the many applications of solid electrolytes.
Chapter four introduces the reader to the principles that underlie thermoluminescence and its application to dosimetry and provides detailed information on the R-activated phosphors that support dosimetry. This is a selective review of detailed literature based on the areas making most progress.
The final chapter elaborates on the data gained by the studies and interpretation around the analytical separation of the individual rare earth elements utilizing chromatographic techniques. The authors describe the fundamental chemistry that underpins contemporary analytical separation techniques for lanthanide separation and analysis. This is done after a description of the rich assortment of separation methods in use has been introduced.

A classic from 1965, this book covers the main aspects of the theory of quantum liquids, including the elementary excitation spectrum, hydrodynamics, and kinetic phenomena. The book requires no special training and assumes only general knowledge of the fundamentals of theoretical physics. It was developed from studies at the Institute of Physical Problems of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and can be used as a guide for professors teaching quantum liquid theory or as a text for graduate students.

Written by the leading names in this field, this book introduces the technical properties, design and fabrication details, measurement results, and applications of three-dimensional silicon radiation sensors. Such devices are currently used in the ATLAS experiment at the European Centre for Particle Physics (CERN) for particle tracking in high energy physics. These sensors are the radiation hardest devices ever fabricated and have applications in ground-breaking research in neutron detection, medical dosimetry and space technologies and more. Chapters explore the essential features of silicon particle detectors, interactions of radiation with matter, radiation damage effects, and micro-fabrication, in addition to a providing historical overview of the field. This book will be a key reference for students and researchers working with sensor technologies. Features: The first book dedicated to this unique and growing subject area, which is also widely applicable in high-energy physics, medical physics, space science and beyond Authored by Sherwood Parker, the inventor of the concept of 3D detectors; Cinzia Da Via, who has brought 3DSi technology to application; and Gian-Franco Dalla Betta, a leading figure in the design and fabrication technology of these devices Explains to non-experts the essential features of silicon particle detectors, interactions of radiation with matter, radiation damage effects, and micro-fabrication

The "blue laser" is and exciting new device used in physics. The potential is now being recognised for its development into a commercial lighting system using about a tenth of the power and with a thousand times the operating lifetime of a comparable conventional system. This comprehensive work introduces the subject at a level suitable for graduate students. It covers the basics physics of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) based on gallium nitride and related nitride semiconductors, and gives an outline of their structural, transport and optical properties, and the relevant device physics. It begins with the fundamentals, and covers both theory and experiment, as well as an examination of actual and potential device applications. Shuji Nakamura and Nichia Chemicals Industries made the initial breakthroughs in the field, and these have revealed that LEDs and LDs are a sophisticated physical phenomenon and a commercial reality.

This comprehensive textbook provides the fundamental concepts and methods of dissipative quantum mechanics and related issues in condensed matter physics starting from first principles. It deals with the phenomena and theory of decoherence, relaxation and dissipation in quantum mechanics that arise from the random exchange of energy with the environment. Major theoretical advances in combination with stunning experimental achievements and the arising perspective for quantum computing have brightened the field and brought it to the attention of the general community in natural sciences. Expertise in dissipative quantum mechanics is by now beneficial in a broad sphere.This book - originally published in 1992 and republished as enlarged and updated second, third and fourth edition in 1999, 2008, and 2012 - dives even deeper into the fundamental concepts, methods and applications of quantum dissipation. The fifth edition provides a self-contained and updated account of the quantum mechanics and quantum statistics of open systems. The subject matter of the book has been thoroughly revised to better comply with the needs of newcomers and the demands of the advanced readership. Most of the chapters are rewritten to enhance clarity and topicality. Four new chapters covering recent developments in the field have been added. There are about 600 references. This book is intended for use by advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, and for researchers active in the field. They will find the monograph as a rich and stimulating source.

With IC technology continuing to advance, the analysis of very small structures remains critically important. Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials provides an overview of advances in semiconductor studies using microscopy. The book explores the use of transmission and scanning electron microscopy, ultrafine electron probes, and EELS to investigate semiconducting structures. It also covers specimen preparation using focused ion beam milling and advances in microscopy techniques using different types of scanning probes, such as AFM, STM, and SCM. In addition, the book discusses a range of materials, from finished devices to partly processed materials and structures, including nanoscale wires and dots.
This volume provides an authoritative reference for all academics and researchers in materials science, electrical and electronic engineering and instrumentation, and condensed matter physics.

Up until now the dominant view of condensed matter physics has been that of an "electrostatic MECCANO" (erector set, for Americans). This book is the first systematic attempt to consider the full quantum-electrodynamical interaction (QED), thus greatly enriching the possible dynamical mechanisms that operate in the construction of the wonderful variety of condensed matter systems, including life itself.A new paradigm is emerging, replacing the "electrostatic MECCANO" with an "electrodynamic NETWORK," which builds condensed matter through the long range (as opposed to the "short range" nature of the usual electrostatic forces) electrodynamical interaction; this interaction creates "coherent configurations" of the elementary systems (atoms and molecules), which oscillate in phase with a coherent macroscopic (and classical) electromagnetic field that, through the strong interaction with matter, remains trapped inside it.

This provides a major review of the two-level system Kondo model, as applied to metallic glasses, nanoscale devices and some doped semiconductors; and the quadripolar and magnetic two-channel Kondo models developed for rare-earth and actinide ions with crystal splitting metals. These contrast with the simple single-channel model, and allow the study of non-Fermi liquid physics. This book forms a valuable and unique source of information for statistical and condensed matter physicists and graduate students.
Key Features:
* An invaluable and unique source of information on this highly popular area of condensed matter physics
* Based upon a special edition of the Advances in Physics journal
* Magnetic impurities in metals present a major challenge to condensed matter physicists, for which a strong starting point has long been the early insights of Kondo into the resistance medium