Among various applications, solar cells for photovoltaic solar energy and thin-film transistors for flat-panel display have been the two major driving forces for research and development of thin-film silicon materials and devices. In the last few years, the thin-film silicon community has mainly focused on thin-film silicon solar cells to address the issues of efficiency, manufacturing capability and manufacturing cost. This volume includes sixty-eight papers presented at Symposium A, 'Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology - 2011', which took place April 25-29, during the 2011 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California. The symposium covered the science and technology of thin-film silicon-based materials, reviewed recent progress, addressed the scientific and technical issues in the field and, this year, focused sessions were held on the topic of solar cell efficiency.

In addition to traditional themes of synthesis, structure and optoelectronic properties of nano- and microcrystalline semiconductors, this book, first published in 1999, reports on properties leading to new optical and biological applications. Individual nanocrystals, as well as nanocrystalline and microcrystalline semiconductors and thin films, represent an interesting class of materials whose properties differ from those of their single-crystal and amorphous counterparts. For example, the electrical, optical and chemical properties may be dominated by surface- and grain-boundary phenomena, and quantization can alter the electronic states. Such effects lead to unique properties that are sensitively dependent on the crystallite size and may be exploited in novel optoelectronic, sensor and biomedical devices. Researchers come together here to share recent advances in the field. Topics include: light emission from nanocrystalline silicon; biological applications and surface chemistry of nanocrystalline semiconductors including synthesis and spectroscopy; synthesis and properties of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline semiconductors; oxide and chalcogenide semiconductors and microcrystalline and polycrystalline semiconductors.

The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners.