III-V semiconductors have continued to find new applications in optical data transmission, full-color displays, automotive electronics and personal communication systems. Complex epitaxial growth, processing, device design and circuit architecture are all necessary for realization of these elements. This book brings together the diverse group of scientists and researchers that are required to develop the next-generation devices. The wide bandgap nitrides, GaN, AlN, InN and their alloys are featured. The commercial availability of blue- and green-light-emitting diodes based on the InGaN/AlGaN system, and the recent announcement of pulsed operation of a laser diode, have stimulated interest in the growth, characterization and processing of these materials. Potential applications in high-temperature/high-power electronics appear promising because of the good transport properties of these nitrides. Topics include: growth and characterization; photonics and processing; electronics and processing; wide bandgap semiconductors and novel devices and processing.

Low-dielectric constant materials are needed to improve the performance and speed of future integrated circuits. In fact, the diversity of contributors to this book is testimony to the global significance of the topic to the future of semiconductor manufacturing. Presentations include those by semiconductor equipment manufacturers and chemical source suppliers, academia from six countries, four government laboratories and five major device manufacturers. Approaches to designing and implementing reduction in dielectric constant for intermetal dielectric materials are featured and range from the evolution of silicon dioxide to fluorinated silicate glass, to the use of inorganic/organic polymers and spin-on-material, to fluorinated diamond-like carbon and nanoporous silica. The book also addresses the practical aspects of the use of low-dielectric constant materials such as chemical mechanical polishing of these materials and optimization of wiring delays in devices utilizing low-k material.

This book from the highly successful series on amorphous-silicon science and devices reflects the increasing range of applications for a-Si technology. Advances in solar cells incorporating microcrystalline silicon absorber layers are discussed, and a new manufacturing facility for amorphous-silicon-based tandem solar cells is highlighted. Progress towards realizing both higher resolution and improved visibility in active-matrix liquid crystal displays is featured. And while work on raising the deposition rate for amorphous-silicon transistors is also outlined, it is expected that advances in devices and manufacturing will be accelerated when several fundamental puzzles regarding amorphous silicon's structure and optoelectronic properties are resolved. Topics include: solar cells; thin-film transistors and flat-panel displays; sensors, detectors and novel devices; device physics; deposition technologies; studies of growth processes; hydrogen and structure a-Si:H; defects and equilibration in a-Si:H; fundamental issues in defect processes; transport and recombination processes; thin films for photovoltaic and related device applications.

Rare-earth doped semiconductors hold great potential for a variety of optoelectronic applications, including lasers, LEDs and optical amplifiers. In fact, the field has grown rapidly over the past several years, with a clear switch in direction. The first book by this name was devoted to rare-earth doped II-VI and III-V semiconductors; more than half of the papers in this new volume are devoted to rare-earth doped silicon. This indicates that rare-earth doping of silicon is now seriously considered as a means to achieve silicon-based optoelectronic devices. In addition, new reports on rare-earth doped III-nitrides are also presented. Researchers from 14 countries come together in the volume to discuss current trends, highlight new developments and identify potential electronic and optoelectronic applications. Topics include: incorporation methods and properties; structural, electrical and optical properties; excitation mechanisms and electroluminescence and integration.

This book features scientific research that supports the safe and effective disposal of radioactive waste in a geological repository. One highlight of the volume is the opening talk by Rustum Roy, who was instrumental in establishing the first symposium on this topic in 1978. Professor Roy summarizes his views of the past 19 years of progress in the field. A second highlight is the participation by several Russian and Ukrainian scientists who authored papers on nuclear waste disposal aspects of the Chernobyl Unit 4 reactor that exploded in April 1986. Additional topics include: glass formulations and properties; glass/water interactions; cements in radioactive waste management; ceramic and crystalline waste forms; spent nuclear fuel; waste processing and treatment; radiation effects in ceramics, glasses and nuclear waste materials; waste package materials; radionuclide solubility and speciation; radionuclide sorption; radionuclide transport; repository backfill; performance assessment; natural analogues and excess plutonium dispositioning.

Interest in the mechanical properties of thin films remains high throughout the world, as evidenced by the large international contingent represented in this book. With regard to stresses, techniques for sorting out residual stress and strain states are becoming more varied and sophisticated. Discussions include Raman scattering, nonlinear acoustic responses and back-scattered electron imaging microscopies, as well as the more standard wafer-bending and X-ray techniques. Spectroscopy, indenting and the burgeoning field of nanoprobe imaging for the characterization of mechanical properties of thin films are also highlighted. Topics include: mechanical properties of films and multilayers; fracture and adhesion; nanoindentation of films and surfaces; mechanical property methods and modelling; tribological properties of thin films; properties of polymer films; stress effects in thin films and interconnects; epitaxy and strain relief mechanisms, measurements.

MRS books on materials reliability in microelectronics have become the snapshot of progress in this field. Reduced feature size, increased speed, and larger area are all factors contributing to the continual performance and functionality improvements in integrated circuit technology. These same factors place demands on the reliability of the individual components that make up the IC. Achieving increased reliability requires an improved understanding of both thin-film and patterned-feature materials properties and their degradation mechanisms, how materials and processes used to fabricate ICs interact, and how they may be tailored to enable reliability improvements. This book focuses on the physics and materials science of microelectronics reliability problems rather than the traditional statistical, accelerated electrical testing aspects. Studies are grouped into three large sections covering electromigration, gate oxide reliability and mechanical stress behavior. Topics include: historical summary; reliability issues for Cu metallization; characterization of electromigration phenomena; modelling; microstructural evolution and influences; oxide and device reliability; thin oxynitride dielectrics; noncontact diagnostics; stress effects in thin films and interconnects and microbeam X-ray techniques for stress measurements.