This symposium attracted 82 papers which were presented orally or as posters. Fourteen invited speakers presented state of the art reviews and aspects of future key topics in this increasingly important area of materials science. The high level of scientific presentation during the conference enhanced the aim of the symposium, which was to stimulate discussion amongst materials scientists, chemists, engineers and physicists with a common interest in this field and to disseminate knowledge of progress.

This volume discusses both the practical and theoretical aspects of energy beam materials processing. It highlights the recent advances in the use of beams and incoherent light sources to enhance or modify chemical processes at solid surfaces. Special attention is given to the latest developments in the use of ion, electron and photon beams, and on laser-assisted process chemistry. Thin film and surface and interface reactions as well as bulk phase transformations are discussed. Practical technological details and the criteria for present and future applications are also reviewed. The papers collected in this volume reflect the continuing strong interest and variety of development in this field.

Single chamber processing has attracted the attention of a number of researchers as well as industries as an alternative processing "philosophy" to complement or even replace the stringent environment of micro- and optoelectronics device fabrication. Up till now single chamber processing has been an elusive manufacturing objective throughout the history of integrated circuit technology. With the emergence of integrated processing tools in recent years, significant segments for continuous fabrication processes have been successfully realised and their potential has already innovated the industry. The 14 papers in this volume cover topics such as: The background of this approach and up-dated status; Design and concepts of relevant cluster tools equipment; Specific process modules such as deposition chambers (CVD, RTCVD, UVCVD, ...) annealing or etching reactors; and Standardization efforts. The work will provide both a stimulus for future research in this field, as well as useful reference material on the new technology trends in microelectronic device manufacturing technology.

The contributions in this volume reflect not only the growing understanding of the underlying mechanisms controlling the various reactions in laser surface processing, but also the potential of several developing applications of direct processing. The most notable trend in the field currently is the technique of laser ablation, which is reported in almost a quarter of the papers in this volume. Whilst by no means a new phenomenon, attention has until recent years remained in the area of lithography and UV-sensitive materials. The growth in interest lies in the use of the technique to grow multi-component thin films and multi-layers. A number of papers on the topic of process diagnostics and in-situ measurements are also included. The theme of these annual meetings is centred around the physical and chemical modification of thin films and surfaces induced by the action of photon, ion, neutral, or electron beams in a variety of environments. Consequently these proceedings provide a comprehensive and unified presentation of the latest developments in this field.

The papers presented here reflect the core of the scientific activities that took place at the 1994 E-MRS conference. The contributions indicate that the field of photorefractive materials is advancing vigorously, moving into new classes of compounds, finding ways for the judicious tailoring of the microscopic properties of the materials - based on increased insight into the features of defects or quantum wells - and leading to new applications, often made possible by the advances at the forefront of the materials. The many papers presented by European participants emphasised the large amount of work being carried out here. Stimulating contributions also came from the United States and Japan, while papers presented by members from the industrial world indicate the importance of the field in this sector.

There is a growing awareness that the successful implementation of novel material systems and technology steps in the fabrication of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, is critically dependent on the understanding and control of the materials, the process steps and their interactions. The contributions in this volume demonstrate that characterisation and analysis techniques are an essential support mechanism for research in these fields. Current major research themes are reviewed both in the development and application of diagnostic techniques for advanced materials analysis and fabrication process control. Two distinct trends are elucidated: the emergence and evaluation of sophisticated in situ optical diagnostic techniques such as photoreflectance and spectroellipsometry and the industrial application of ultra-high sensitivity chemical analysis techniques for contamination monitoring. The volume will serve as a useful and timely overview of this increasingly important field.

These three day symposia were designed to provide a link between specialists from university or industry who work in different fields of semiconductor optoelectronics. Symposium A dealt with topics including: epitaxial growth of III-V, II-VI, IV-VI, Si-based structures; selective-area, localized and non-planar epitaxy, shadow-mask epitaxy; bulk and new optoelectronic materials; polymers for optoelectronics. Symposium B dealt with III-V epitaxial layers grown by low temperature molecular beam epitaxy, a subject which has undergone rapid development in the last three years.

Recent progress in organic and LED structures, in photorefractive response in molecular ferromagnetism, as well as the ultrafast and large non-linear optical response in conjugated systems are attracting great interest from the scientific community. The discovery of fullerenes has added further impetus to this field. Two areas bear particular promise for the development of a new electronics based on SEM materials: the integration of organic materials into the planar silicon technology such as, for instance, the advances in "all organic" field-effect transistors (FET) and the new organic light emitting diodes (LED); and secondly the appearance of a totally new electronics in which photons, rather than electrons, carry the information and SEM materials act as switching devices. Both aspects and more are covered in this volume. The quality of the 52 contributions attests to the fact that this subject area has progressed from the level of a scientific curiosity to a mature field of materials science introducing important technological perspectives for electronic applications.

In the past ten years the science of Polyconjugated Organic Materials has grown rapidly and is now experiencing the uncorrelated explosive development typical of a new science. The transfer of the basic scientific knowledge of these materials to the field of technology and industry is presently the focus of interest in academic and industrial circles. New devices are being developed which are paving the way for future technologies. Organic materials have become the focus of attention in these technologies. The large and very fast nonlinear optical response of organic molecules has generated new theoretical and experimental physics as well as new synthetic chemistry. The advancement of knowledge and the new achievements in this field require the interdisciplinary practice of chemists, physicists and engineers who can talk the same technical language on molecular systems which show specific physical properties. The purpose of this book is to introduce beginners to the field of nonlinear optics in organic materials and to expose specialists in one field to the problems of the other fields. Since organic molecules with a large and very fast nonlinear optical response are being continuously discovered the contributions focus on this class of materials. The volume provides a useful introduction for all those interested in the theoretical and experimental aspects of this expanding field.