The polycrystalline and nanocrystalline states play an increasingly important role in exploiting the properties of materials, encompassing applications as diverse as pharmaceuticals, catalysts, solar cells and energy storage. A knowledge of the three-dimensional atomic and molecular structure of materials is essential for understanding and controlling their properties, yet traditional single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods lose their power when only polycrystalline and nanocrystalline samples are available. It is here that powder diffraction and single-crystal electron diffraction techniques take over, substantially extending the range of applicability of the crystallographic principles of structure determination. This volume, a collection of teaching contributions presented at the Crystallographic Course in Erice in 2011, clearly describes the fundamentals and the state-of-the-art of powder diffraction and electron diffraction methods in materials characterisation, encompassing a diverse range of disciplines and materials stretching from archeometry to zeolites. As such, it is a comprehensive and valuable resource for those wishing to gain an understanding of the broad applicability of these two rapidly developing fields.

An Advanced Study Institute on Radiative Processes in Discharge Plasmas was held at the Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland, June 23 through July 5, 1985. This publication is the Pro- ceedings from that Institute. The Institute was attended by eighty-five Participants and Lecturers representing the United States, Canada, France, West Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. A distinguished faculty of eighteen Lecturers was assembled and the topical program organized with the assistance of an Advisory Committee composed of: Dr. John Waymouth, USA; Dr. Timm Teich, Switzerland; Dr. Arthur Phelps, USA; Dr. Nicol Peacock, England; Professor Erich Kunhardt, USA; Dr. Anthony Hyder, USA; and Dr. Arthur Guenther, USA. The underlying theme and objective of the Institute was the enhance- ment of scientific communication and exchange among academic, industrial, and national laboratory groups having a common concern for radiative processes in discharge plasmas. The program was organized into four major sessions sequentially treating: the fundamental science of visible and near-visible radiation in plasmas; the technology of discharge light sources; recent and novel methods for the generation of plasmas; and an update on advances in laser-based diagnostics. Each major session culmi- nated in a panel discussion comprised of the Lecturers for that session.

Natural products like wool, leather or cotton are permeable to water vapor. Their complex fibrous structure makes it difficult to imitate this natural phenomenon by synthesis. This book discusses ways to obtain water vapor permeability by microporosity or through a hydrophilic structure. Various areas of application include the medical sector for implants and dialysis, the industrial sector for filtration or for processes requiring the slow release of substances, and the consumer sector for leather substitutes or performance textiles.

This book summarizes the proceedings of the invited talks presented at the International Symposium on New Trends in Optical Soliton Transmission Systems held in Kyoto during November 18 - 21, 1997. As a result of worldwide demand for ultra high bitrate transmissions and increased scientific interest from the soliton community, research on optical solitons in fibres has made remarkable progress in recent years. In view of these trends, the Research Group for Optical Soliton Communications (ROSC), chaired by Akira Hasegawa, was established in Japan in April 1995 to promote collaboration and information exchange among communication service companies, industries and academic circles in the theory and application of optical solitons. This symposium was organized as a part of the ROSC activities. As with the 1 st ROSC symposium, this symposium attracted enthusiastic response from worldwide researchers involved in the subject of soliton based communications and intensive discussions were held throughout the symposium. Particular emphases were made to dispersion managements of soliton transmission. I would like to note that in the }'t symposium the (adiabatic) dispersion managements just began to appear in reducing radiation at amplifiers and reducing collision effects in WDM system. These have become standard this time, but in addition new, non-adiabatic dispersion managements have been introduced independently by various scientists all over the world.

The study of defects and disorder in solids remains a central topic in solid state science. Developments in the field continue to be promoted by new experimental and theoretical techniques, while further impetus for the study of disorder in solids is provided by the growing range of applications of solid state materials in which disorder at the atomic level plays a crucial rOle. In this book we attempt to present a survey of fundamental and applied aspects of the field. We consider the basic aspects of defective crystalline and amorphous solids. We discuss recent studies of structural, electronic, transport, thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties of such materials. Experimental and theoretical methodologies are reviewed, and detailed consideration is given to materials such as fast ion conductors and amorphous semiconductors that are of importance in an applied context. Any survey of this large field is necessarily selective. We have chosen to emphasise insulating (especially oxidic) and semi-conducting materials. But many of the approaches and techniques we describe apply generally across the entire field of solid state science. This volume is based on a NATO ASI held at the Residencia Santa Teresa de Jesus, Madrid in September 1991. The Editor is grateful to the NATO Scientific Affairs Division for their sponsorship of this School. Thanks are also due to all who participated in and lectured at the school, but especially to the organising committee of A. V. Chadwick, G. N. Greaves, M. Grigorkiewicz, J. H. Harding and S. Kalbitzer. C. R. A.

MICROELECTRONIC INTERCONNECTIONS AND MICROASSEMBL Y WORKSHOP 18-21 May 1996, Prague, Czech Republic Conference Organizers: George Harman, NIST (USA) and Pavel Mach (Czech Republic) Summary of the Technical Program Thirty two presentations were given in eight technical sessions at the Workshop. A list of these sessions and their chairpersons is attached below. The Workshop was devoted to the technical aspects of advanced interconnections and microassembly, but also included papers on the education issues required to prepare students to work in these areas. In addition to new technical developments, several papers presented overviews predicting the future directions of these technologies. The basic issue is that electronic systems will continue to be miniaturized and at the same time performance must continue to improve. Various industry roadmaps were discussed as well as new smaller packaging and interconnection concepts. The newest chip packages are often based on the selection of an appropriate interconnection method. An example is the chip-scale package, which has horizontal (x-y) dimensions,;; 20% larger than the actual silicon chip itself. The chip is often flip-chip connected to a micro ball-grid-array, but direct chip attach was described also. Several papers described advances in the manufacture of such packages.

The fourth edition of "Solid Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films" has been used meanwhile as a standard textbook around the world at many universities and research institutions. Even though surface and interface physics have become a mature science branch, their theoretical concepts and experimental techniques are of higher importance than ever before because of their impact on nanostructure physics. Surface and interface physics form the basis for modern nanoscience, be it in quantum electronics, in catalysis, in corrosion, or in lubrication research. This explains the ever-growing demand for education in these elds. It was therefore time to carefully revise the book and bring it up to latest dev- opments both in fundamental research and in application. Concerning new ma- rial aspects topics about group III nitride surfaces and high k-oxide/semiconductor heterostructures have been included. Recent developments in these material classes are of essential importance for high-speed/high-power electronics and advanced - based CMOS technology on the nanometer scale. The novel eld of spin electronics or spintronics having been initiated by the detection of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) by Peter Grunberg and Albert Fert (Nobel Prize 2007) required a more extensive consideration of anisotropy effects in thin magnetic lms. For the devel- ment of purely electrical spin switching devices based on spin effects rather than on semiconductor space charge layers, a prerequisite for high-speed, low-power sp- tronics, the spin-transfer torque mechanism shows some promise. Correspondingly this topic is discussed in direct connection with the GMR in this new edition.

High-Temperature Cuprate Superconductors provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the properties of these fascinating materials. The essential properties of high-temperature cuprate superconductors are reviewed on the background of their theoretical interpretation. The experimental results for structural, magnetic, thermal, electric, optical and lattice properties of various cuprate superconductors are presented with respect to relevant theoretical models. A critical comparison of various theoretical models involving strong electron correlations, antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, phonons and excitons provides a background for understanding of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. Recent achievements in their applications are also reviewed. A large number of illustrations and tables gives valuable information for specialists. A text-book level presentation with formulation of a general theory of strong-coupling superconductivity will help students and researches to consolidate their knowledge of this remarkable class of materials.

Fibre Science and Technology is one of six titles in a coherent and definitive series of volumes dedicated to advanced composite materials research, development and usage in the former Soviet Union. Much of the information presented has been classified until recently. Thus each volume provides a unique insight into hitherto unknown research and development data. This volume deals with the basic components of a composite material, namely the reinforcement and the encasing matrix material. Beginning with a specification of a range of reinforcing fibres (glass, carbon, organic, inorganic, ceramic), the book then considers in detail the development of such fibres and the significant range of properties achieved. An extensive test methodology used to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of each type of fibre matrix combination is presented, and the production method employed for each constituent part is described. This book will be of interest to anyone involved in research or development in composite materials science and technology, both in industry and universities.

This book represents the proceedings of the First International Conference on Frontiers of Polymer Research held in New Delhi, India during January 20-25, 1991. Polymers have usually been perceived as substances to be used in insulations, coatings, fabrics, and structural materials. Defying this classical view, polymers are emerging as a new class of materials with potential applications in many new technologies. They also offer challenging opportunities for fundamental research. Recognizing a tremendous growth in world wide interest in polymer research and technology, a truly global "1st International Conference on Frontiers of Polymer Research" was organized by P. N. Prasad (SUNY at Buffalo), F. E. Karasz (University of Massachusetts) and J. K. Nigam (Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, India). The 225 participants represented 25 countries and a wide variety of academic, industrial and government groups. The conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Chandra Shekhar and had a high level media coverage. The focus of the conference was on three frontier areas of polymer research: (i) Polymers for photonics, where nonlinear optical properties of polymers show great promise, (ii) Polymers for electronics, where new conduction mechanisms and photophysics have generated considerable enthusiasm and (iii) High performance polymers as new advanced polymers have exhibited exceptionally high mechanical strength coupled with light weight.

The Workshop on Physics and Application of Non-crystalline Semiconductors in Optoelectronics was held from 15 to 17 October 1996 in Chisinau. republic of Moldova and was devoted to the problems of non-crystalline semiconducting materials. The reports covered two mjlin topics: theoretical basis of physics of non -crystalline materials and experimental results. In the framework of these major topics there were treated many subjects. concerning the physics of non-crystalline semiconductors and their specific application: -optical properties of non-crystalline semiconductors; -doping of glassy semiconductors and photoinduced effects in chalcogenide glasses and their application for practical purposes; -methods for investigation of the structure in non-crystalline semiconductors -new glassy materials for IR trasmittance and optoelectronics. Reports and communications were presented on various aspects of the theory. new physical principles. studies of the atomic structure. search and development of optoelectronics devices. Special attention was paid to the actual subject of photoinduced transformations and its applications. Experimental investigations covered a rather wide spectrum of materials and physical phenomena. As a novel item it is worth to mention the study of nonlinear optical effects in amorphous semiconducting films. The third order optical non linearities. fast photoinduced optical absorption and refraction. acusto-optic effects recently discovered in non-crystalline semiconductors could potentially be utilised for optical signal processing. The important problems of photoinduced structural transformations and related phenomena. which are very attractive and actual both from the scientific and practical points of view. received much attention in discussions at the conference."

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge * . . . Book of Proverbs This volume constitutes the proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Materials Processing at High Gravity. It offers the latest results in a new field with immense potential for commercialization, making this book a vital resource for research and development professionals in industry, academia and government. We have titled the proceedings Centrifugal Materials Processing to emphasize that centrifugation causes more than an increase in acceleration. It also introduces the Coriolis force and a gradient of acceleration, both of which have been discovered to play important roles in materials processing. The workshop was held June 2-8, 1996 on the campus of Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, under the sponsorship of Corning Corporation and the International Center for Gravity Materials Science and Applications. The meeting was very productive and exciting, with energetic discussions of the latest discoveries in centrifugal materials processing, continuing the atmosphere of the first workshop held in 1991 at Dubna (Russia) and the second workshop held in 1993 in Potsdam, New York. Results and research plans were presented for a wide variety of centrifugal materials processing, including directional solidification of semiconductors, crystallization of high Tc superconductors, growth of diamond thin films, welding, alloy casting, solution behavior and growth, protein crystal growth, polymerization, and flow behavior. Also described were several centrifuge facilities that have been constructed for research, with costs beginning at below $1000.

Microwave Physics and Techniques discusses the modelling and application of nonlinear microwave circuits and the problems of microwave electrodynamics and applications of magnetic and high Tc superconductor structures. Aspects of advanced methods for the structural investigation of materials and of MW remote sensing are also considered. The dual focus on both HTSC MW device physics and MW excitation in ferrites and magnetic films will foster the interaction of specialists in these different fields.

Intensive research on zeolites, during the past thirty years, has resulted in a deep understanding of their chemistry and in a true zeolite science, including synthesis, structure, chemical and physical properties, and catalysis. These studies are the basis for the development and growth of several industrial processes applying zeolites for selective sorption, separation, and catalysis. In 1983, a NATO Advanced Study Institute was organized in Alcabideche (portugal) to establish the State-of-the-Art in Zeolite Science and Technology and to contribute to a better understanding of the structural properties of zeolites, the configurational constraints they may exert, and their effects in adsorption, diffusion, and catalysis. Since then, zeolite science has witnessed an almost exponential growth in published papers and patents, dealing with both fundamentals issues and original applications. The proposal of new procedures for zeolite synthesis, the development of novel and sophisticated physical techniques for zeolite characterization, the discovery of new zeolitic and related microporous materials, progresses in quantum chemistry and molecular modeling of zeolites, and the application of zeolites as catalysts for organic reactions have prompted increasing interest among the scientific community. An important and harmonious interaction between various domains of Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering resulted therefrom.

Gaseous Dielectrics IX covers recent advances and developments in a wide range of basic, applied, and industrial areas of gaseous dielectrics.

The study of phase transformations in substitutional alloys, including order disorder phenomena and structural transformations, plays a crucial role in understanding the physical and mechanical properties of materials, and in designing alloys with desired technologically important characteristics. Indeed, most of the physical properties, including equilibrium properties, transport, magnetic, vibrational as well as mechanical properties of alloys are often controlled by and are highly sensitive to the existence of ordered compounds and to the occurrence of structural transformations. Correspondingly, the alloy designer facing the task of processing new high-performance materials with properties that meet specific industrial applications must answer the following question: What is the crystalline structure and the atomic configuration that an alloy may exhibit at given temperature and concentration? Usually the answer is sought in the phase-diagram of a relevant system that is often determined experimentally and does not provide insight to the underlying mechanisms driving phase stability. Because of the rather tedious and highly risky nature of developing new materials through conventional metallurgical techniques, a great deal of effort has been expended in devising methods for understanding the mechanisms contrOlling phase transformations at the microscopic level. These efforts have been bolstered through the development of fully ab initio, accurate theoretical models, coupled with the advent of new experimental methods and of powerful supercomputer capabilities.

Despite the significant progress, which has been made in developing of ceramic materials desired for engineering applications, their mass production is still not on expected level. Among the key factors hindering higher exploitation of these materials the problems in processing were identified. The processing comprises powder production, mixing techniques, forming, and sintering. All of them are equally important and all of them can introduce defects into the material. Besides improvement in processing, the properties of ceramic materials can be considerably improved by the creation of composites. Composites formed at micro or macro level are able to form more flaw-tolerant material. Considerable research activities, working on above mentioned phenomena are in progress at industrial laboratories as well as other research centres. This volume presents the contributions to the Advanced Research Workshop "Engineering Ceramics '96" with 65 participants from 21 countries held on 12th - 15th May 1996 at Smolenice Castle, Slovakia, the conference site of Slovak Academy of Sciences. The book covers research activities on engineering ceramic materials and gives an overview with respect to recent developments.

The phenomenonofspontaneous ordering in semiconductoralloys, which can be categorized as a self-organized process, is observed to occur sponta neously during epitaxial growth of certain ternary alloy semiconductors and results in a modification of their structural, electronic, and optical properties. There has been a great dealofinterest in learning how to control this phenome non so that it may be used for tailoring desirable electronic and optical properties. There has been even greater interest in exploiting the phenomenon for its unique ability in providing an experimental environment of controlled alloy statistical fluctuations. As such, itimpacts areasofsemiconductorscience and technology related to the materials science ofepitaxial growth, statistical mechanics, and electronic structure of alloys and electronic and photonic devices. During the past two decades, significant progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms that drive this phenomenon and the changes in physical properties that result from it. A variety of experimental techniques have been used to probe the phenomenon and several attempts made atproviding theoretical models both for the ordering mechanisms as well as electronic structure changes. The various chapters of this book provide a detailed account of these efforts during the past decade. The first chapter provides an elaborate account of the phenomenon, with an excellent perspective of the structural and elec tronic modifications itinduces.

Composite materials are increasingly used in many applications because they offer the engineer a range of advantages over traditional materials. They are often used in situations where a specified level of performance is required, but where the cost of testing the materials under the extremes of those specifications is very high. In order to solve this problem, engineers are turning to computer Modelling to evaluate the materials under the range of conditions they are likely to encounter. Many of these analyses are carried out in isolation, and yet the evaluation of a range of composites can be carried out using the same basic principles. In this new book the editor has brought together an international panel of authors, each of whom is working on the analysis and Modelling of composite materials. The overage of the book is deliberately wide; to illustrate that similar principles and methods can be used to model and evaluate a wide range of materials. It is also hoped that, by bringing together this range of topics, the insight gained in the study of one composite can be recognized and utilized in the study of others. Professional engineers involved in the specification and testing of composite material structures will find this book an invaluable resource in the course of their work. It will also be of interest to those industrial and academic engineers involved in the design, development, manufacture and applications of composite materials.

The Microsystems Series has as its goal the creation of an outstanding set of textbooks, references, and monographs on subjects that span the broad field of microsystems. Exceptional PhD dissertations provide a good starting point for such a series, because, unlike monographs by more senior authors, which must compete with other professional duties for attention, the dissertation becomes the sole focus of the author until it is completed. Conversion to book form is then a streamlined process, with final editing and book production completed within a few months. Thus we are able to bring important and timely material into book form at a pace which tracks this rapidly developing field. Our first four books in the series were drawn from the more physics-oriented side of the microsystems field, including such diverse subjects as computer-aided design, atomic-force microscopy, and ultrasonic motion detection. Now, with Sangeeta Bhatia's work, we enter the realm of biology. Her use of artifically structured substrates to encourage the liver cells to form orderly assemblies is a fine example of how microfabrication technology can contribute to cell biology and medicine. I am pleased to be able to add this very new and very interesting work to the Microsystems Series. Stephen D. Senturia Cambridge MA Microfabrication in Tissue Engineering and Bioartificial Organs Foreword One of the emerging applications of microsystems technology in biology and medicine is in the field of tissue engineering and artificial organs. In order to function, cells need to receive proper signals from their environment.

Conventional materials, such as nickel based alloys, will not be able to match the required performance specifications for the future generation of high temperature materials. This book reviews the characteristics and potential of a wide range of candidate superalloy replacements, such as ceramics, intermetallics, and their composites. Particular attention is devoted to the problems of processing and design with these materials.

The Eighth Rochester Conference on Coherence and Quantum Optics was held on the campus of the University of Rochester during the period June 13-16,2001. This volume contains the proceedings of the meeting. The meeting was preceded by an affiliated conference, the International Conference on Quantum Information, with some overlapping sessions on June 13. The proceedings of the affiliated conference will be published separately by the Optical Society of America. A few papers that were presented in common plenary sessions of the two conferences will be published in both proceedings volumes. More than 268 scientists from 28 countries participated in the week long discussions and presentations. This Conference differed from the previous seven in the CQO series in several ways, the most important of which was the absence of Leonard Mandel. Professor Mandel died a few months before the conference. A special memorial symposium in his honor was held at the end of the conference. The presentations from that symposium are included in this proceedings volume. An innovation, that we believe made an important contribution to the conference, was the inclusion of a series of invited lectures chaired by CQO founder Emil Wolf, reviewing the history of the fields of coherence and quantum optics before about 1970. These were given by three prominent participants in the development of the field, C. Cohen-Tannoudji, 1. F. Clauser, and R. I. Glauber.

The Sixth International Conference on Sintering and Related Phenomena took place at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana June 6-8, 1983. This conference was also the twentieth Conference on Ceramic Sciences organized yearly by a "confederation" of four institutions: North Carolina University at Raleigh, N.C., the University of California at Berkeley, CA, Alfred University at Alfred, NY and the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. The papers presented at the last Notre Dame conference collect ed in this volume, reflect the progress in our understanding of the process of sintering achieved in the past four years. It seems that the analysis of the two particle models is finally extended to the analysis of the models of compacts. In these investigations strong emphasis is put on pore-grain boundar ies interaction which appear to be central to this problem. It is to be hoped that in the near future an adequate model of the compact will be developed which may serve as a useful basis of powder tech nology. Also, the effects of atmosphere on the sintering of ceramics after a long period of neglect, seem to attract the attention of more workers in the field."

Helium Ion Microscopy: Principles and Applications describes the theory and discusses the practical details of why scanning microscopes using beams of light ions - such as the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) - are destined to become the imaging tools of choice for the 21st century. Topics covered include the principles, operation, and performance of the Gaseous Field Ion Source (GFIS), and a comparison of the optics of ion and electron beam microscopes including their operating conditions, resolution, and signal-to-noise performance. The physical principles of Ion-Induced Secondary Electron (iSE) generation by ions are discussed, and an extensive database of iSE yields for many elements and compounds as a function of incident ion species and its energy is included. Beam damage and charging are frequently outcomes of ion beam irradiation, and techniques to minimize such problems are presented. In addition to imaging, ions beams can be used for the controlled deposition, or removal, of selected materials with nanometer precision. The techniques and conditions required for nanofabrication are discussed and demonstrated. Finally, the problem of performing chemical microanalysis with ion beams is considered. Low energy ions cannot generate X-ray emissions, so alternative techniques such as Rutherford Backscatter Imaging (RBI) or Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) are examined.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference on "Atomic and Nanometer Scale Modification of Materials: Fundamentals and Applications" which was co-sponsored by NATO and the Engineering Foundation, and took place in Ventura, California in August 1992. The goal of the organizers was to bring together and facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between researchers involved in the development of techniques for nanometer-scale modification and manipulation. theorists investigating the fundamental mech anisms of the processes involved in modification, and scientists studying the properties and applications of nanostructures. About seventy scientists from all over the world participated in the conference. It has been more than 30 years since Richard Feynman wrote his prophetic article: ''There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom" (Science and Engineering, 23, 22, 1960). In it he predicted that some day we should be able to store bits of information in structures composed of only 100 atoms or so, and thus be able to write all the information accumulated in all the books in the world in a cube of material one two-hundredths of an inch high. He went on to say, "the prin ciples of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. " Since that time there has been significant progress towards the realization of Feynman's dreams."