Following the biannual meetings in MUnster (1977) and Stanford (1979) the Third International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy was held in Budapest from August 31 to September 5, 1981. The Conference was attended by about 250 participants. The success of the 1981 Conference in Budapest was especially due to the excellent preparation and organization by the Local Organizing Committee. We would also like to acknowledge the generous hospitality and cooperation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Japan was chosen to be the location for the next conference in 1983. SIMS conferences are devoted to two main issues: improving the application of SIMS in different and especially new fields, and understanding the ion formation process. Needless to say, there is a very strong interaction be tween these two issues. The major reason for the rapid increase in SIMS activities in the last few years is the fact that SIMS is a powerful tool for bulk, thin-film, and surface analysis. Today it is extensively and successfully applied in such different fields as depth profiling and imaging of semiconductor devices, in isotope analysis of minerals, in imaging biological tissues, in the study of catalysts and catalytic reactions, in oxide-layer analysis on metals in drug detection, and in the analysis of body fluids.

This volume contains full proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS-IV), held in the Minoo-Kanko Hotel, Osaka, Japan, from November 13th to 19th, 1983. Coordinated by a local or ganizing committee under the auspices of the international organizing com mittee, it followed earlier conferences held in MUnster (1977), Stanford (1979), and Budapest (1981). The conference was attended by about 250 participants from 18 countries, and 130 papers including 24 invited ones were presented. Reflecting the rap idly expanding activities in the SIMS field, informative papers were pre sented containing up-to-date information on SIMS and various related fields. The proceedings focussed upon six main issues: (1) Fundamentals of sput tering and secondary ion formation. (2) Recent progress in instrumentation, including submicron SIMS and image processing. (3) SIMS combined with other surface analysis techniques. (4) Outstanding SIMS-related analytical methods such as laser-microprobe SIMS, sputtered neutral mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry of sputtered neutrals by multi-photon resonance ionization, and accelerator-based SIMS. (5) Organic SIMS and FAB which has recently become a rapidly expanding technique in pharmacy, biotechnology, etc. (6) Appl ica tions of SIMS to various fields such as metallurgy, geology, and biology, including depth profiling of semiconductors, and analysis of inorganic mate rials. As a venue for the exchange of ideas and information concerning all the above issues, the conference proved a great success."

Der Autor, ein Physiker mit mehr als 30 Jahren Erfahrung in einem internationalen Forschungslaboratorium, beschreibt und analysiert seine Reisen" in eine nicht-alltagliche Bewusstseinswelt. Diese Reisen, zum Teil vergleichbar mit Nahtod-Erfahrungen, waren ein Hin- und Herpendeln zwischen der Welt des Alltagserlebens und der Welt seiner - immer wieder spontan auftretenden - Erlebnisse in einer anderen Wirklichkeit. Der Kampf zwischen seinem Physikalischen Gewissen" und den Erinnerungen an die andere Wirklichkeit ist der rote Faden, der sich durch das ganze Buch hindurch zieht. Erlebnisse und Reflexionen des Autors betreffen unter anderem: Schopfung, Urknall und das Higgsteilchen. Die Stellung der Frau im Alten Testament und heute. Die Dreifaltigkeit in verschiedenen Religionen. Ist Gott mannlich oder weiblich? Ein neues Gottesbild. Religion, Spiritualitat und Wissenschaft. Raum, Zeit und Materie. Physik und Mystik. Was ist wirklich? Polaritat ist die treibende Kraft allen Geschehens auf Erden. Die globale Krise: Imbalance zwischen Natur und Technik; Selbsterhaltung, Egoismus und Altruismus. Wer dieses Buch mit dem Herzen liest, dem entfaltet sich nach und nach die uberwaltigende Schonheit der Hoheren Welten," die unbegrenzte Herrlichkeit des ewigen SEINS.