The workshop on "Optical Properties of Low Dimensional Silicon sL Structures" was held in Meylan, France on March, I yd, 1993. The workshop took place inside the facilities of France Telecom- CNET. Around 45 leading scientists working on this rapidly moving field were in attendance. Principal support was provided by the Advanced Research Workshop Program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). French Delegation a l'Armement and CNET gave also a small financial grant, the organisational part being undertaken by the SEE and CNET. There is currently intense research activity worldwide devoted to the optical properties of low dimensional silicon structures. This follow the recent discovery of efficient visible photoluminescence (PL) from highly porous silicon. This workshop was intended to bring together all the leading European scientists and laboratories in order to reveal the state of the art and to open new research fields on this subject. A large number of invited talks took place (12) together with regular contribution (20). The speakers were asked to leave nearly 1/3 of the time to the discussion with the audience, and that promoted both formal and informal discussions between the participants.

The workshop on "Optical Properties of Low Dimensional Silicon sL Structures" was held in Meylan, France on March, I yd, 1993. The workshop took place inside the facilities of France Telecom- CNET. Around 45 leading scientists working on this rapidly moving field were in attendance. Principal support was provided by the Advanced Research Workshop Program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). French Delegation a l'Armement and CNET gave also a small financial grant, the organisational part being undertaken by the SEE and CNET. There is currently intense research activity worldwide devoted to the optical properties of low dimensional silicon structures. This follow the recent discovery of efficient visible photoluminescence (PL) from highly porous silicon. This workshop was intended to bring together all the leading European scientists and laboratories in order to reveal the state of the art and to open new research fields on this subject. A large number of invited talks took place (12) together with regular contribution (20). The speakers were asked to leave nearly 1/3 of the time to the discussion with the audience, and that promoted both formal and informal discussions between the participants.

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.