Emphasizing the fundamentals of transport phenomena, this book provides researchers and practitioners with the technical background they need to understand laser-induced microfabrication and materials processing at small scales. It clarifies the laser/materials coupling mechanisms, and discusses the nanoscale confined laser interactions that constitute powerful tools for top-down nanomanufacturing. In addition to discussing key and emerging applications to modern technology, with particular respect to electronics, advanced topics such as the use of lasers for nanoprocessing and nanomachining, the interaction with polymer materials, nanoparticles and clusters, and the processing of thin films are also covered.

This volume includes a collection of papers presented in Symposium TT, Laser-Material Interactions at Micro/Nanoscales, at the Spring 2011 Materials Research Society Meeting held April 2011 in San Francisco, California. Laser-material interactions are of fundamental importance in a wide range of materials-related research and areas of technology, including green energy, photonics, electronics, environmental studies, biomedical imaging, medical treatment, and optical spectroscopy. This symposium provided an interdisciplinary forum for scientists and engineers from different fields to discuss the physical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical phenomena that occur during laser-material interactions at micro and nano scales. Research addressing new materials, processes, structures, and surfaces synthesized by these methods for emerging fields was discussed. The symposium was well attended and received a large number of abstract submissions in the areas of ultrafast laser processing, laser ablation and deposition, process controls, nanomaterials, surface modification, laser materials interactions, polymerization, lithography, and novel approaches in laser processing.

Surface area has a directly relationship with the efficiency of energy devices. Hierarchical nanostructuring has the potential to greatly increase surface area, and their electrical properties are favourable, not only to energy generation and storage, but also energy-consuming electronic circuits. This book provides systematic coverage of how nanostructured materials can be applied to energy devices, with an emphasis on the process of generation to storage and consumption. The fundamentals (including properties, characterisation and synthesis) are clearly presented across the first chapters of the book, providing readers new to the field with a clear overview of this expanding topic. The detailed discussion of applications will be an inspiration to those already well-versed in the field. The editors have more than a decade of experience in working on all aspects of energy generation and storage - in academia, national laboratories and industry. The book presents a balanced view from all sectors and is presented in a format accessible by postgraduate students and professional researchers alike.