The symposium "UV, Blue and Green Light Emission from
Semiconductor Materials" was part of the European Materials
Research Society (E-MRS) Spring Meeting in Strasbourg, 4-7 June,
1996 and it was arranged to bring together specialists in growth,
characterization and device fabrication of materials suitable for
visible and UV optoelectronic applications. Although the main
emphasis was on the development of semiconductor diode lasers,
work was also presented on the progress of frequently doubling
techniques which have an immediate application in commercial
systems. The proceedings are divided into Part I and Part II
reflecting the two streams of research based on II-VI
semiconductors on the one hand and III-V GaN based semiconductors
on the other hand. Although these two areas are competing
vigorously for the realization of practical blue laser diodes,
there are many common problems, particularly with doping and also
the need for suitable substrates for the growth of lattice
matched structures.

The invited talks were presented by
speakers from Japan, the USA and Europe with representation from
both University and Industrial research groups. In particular,
leaders in the development of blue lasers SONY (II-VI devices)
and Nichia (GaN devices) provided important device papers
alongside the excellent contributions on a wide range of topics
covering epitaxial growth, optical structural and electrical
measurements as well as problems of compensation of dopants and
laser lifetimes.

The symposium "Nonlinear Optical and
Optoelectronics Organic Materials" dealt with the development of
organic molecules and polymers as potential replacements for
existing materials in electronic, optoelectronics and nonlinear
optical devices.