Research in solid-state physics in general and in the physics of dielectrics in particular has grown rapidly in scope and quan tity in the last twenty-five years. In the fifties and early sixties, there was an upsurge of interest in ferroelectricity, piezoelectrici ty' and pyroelectricity. The classical physics of dielectrics, rep resented by books of H. Frohlich, C.P. Smyth, G.I. Skanavi, and A. von Hippel, is now unthinkable without ferroelectricity. The structure and properties of ferroelectrics have been described in a number of books and reviews, including those of W. Kanzig, H.D. Megaw, F. Jona and G. Shirane, W.J. Merz and E. Fatuzzo. The present work deals with the physics of crystalline di electrics and is based on the investigations carried out by scien tists throughout the world. But, understandably, the emphasis is on the research done in the USSR, particularly in the author's labo ratory. A special feature of this two-volume treatise is the pro minent place given to the symmetry and structure of dielectrics and to the importance of spontaneous electric polarization in many properties of crystals. In fact, these aspects take up the whole of the first volume. The second volume is concerned mainly with various properties and phenomena whose nature is illustrated by considering specific crystals. Thus, for example, the phenomena of polarization, piezoelectricity, electrostriction, etc., are first discussed in detail. Then follow descriptions of these phenomena in specific compounds.

This book presents new approaches that offer a better characterization of the interrelationship between crystalline and amorphous phases. In recent years, the use of dielectric spectroscopy has significantly improved our understanding of crystallization. The combination of modern scattering methods, using either synchrotron light or neutrons and infrared spectroscopy with dielectrics, is now helping to reveal modifications of both crystalline and amorphous phases. In turn, this yields insights into the underlying physics of the crystallization process in various materials, e.g. polymers, liquid crystals and diverse liquids. The book offers an excellent introduction to a valuable application of dielectric spectroscopy, and a helpful guide for every scientist who wants to study crystallization processes by means of dielectric spectroscopy.

Research in solid-state physics in general and in the physics of dielectrics in particular has grown rapidly in scope and quan tity in the last twenty-five years. In the fifties and early sixties, there was an upsurge of interest in ferroelectricity, piezoelectrici ty, and pyroelectricity. The classical physics of dielectrics, rep resented by books of H. Frohlich, C.P. Smyth, G.I. Skanavi, and A. von Hippel, is now unthinkable without ferroelectricity. The structure and properties of ferroelectrics have been described in a number of books and reviews, including those of W. Kanzig, H.D. Megaw, F. Jona and G. Shirane, W.J. Merz and E. Fatuzzo. The present work deals with the physics of crystalline di electrics and is based on the investigations carried out by scien tists throughout the world. But, understandably, the emphasis is on the research done in the USSR, particularly in the author's labo ratory. A special feature of this two-volume treatise is the pro minent place given to the symmetry and structure of dielectrics and to the importance of spontaneous electric polarization in many properties of crystals. In fact, these aspects take up the whole of the first volume. The second volume is concerned mainly with various properties and phenomena whose nature is illustrated by considering specific crystals. Thus, for example, the phenomena of polarization, piezoelectricity, electrostriction, etc., are first discussed in detail. Then follow descriptions of these phenomena in specific compounds.

"This volume is the proceedings of The Second International Symposium on High Dielectric Constant Materials: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing Issues ... and was held during [the] 204th Meeting [of the Electrochemical Society] ..."--P. v.

This book presents materials fundamentals of novel gate dielectrics that are being introduced into semiconductor manufacturing to ensure the continuous scalling of the CMOS devices. This is a very fast evolving field of research so we choose to focus on the basic understanding of the structure, thermodunamics, and electronic properties of these materials that determine their performance in device applications. Most of these materials are transition metal oxides. Ironically, the d-orbitals responsible for the high dielectric constant cause sever integration difficulties thus intrinsically limiting high-k dielectrics. Though new in the electronics industry many of these materials are wel known in the field of ceramics, and we describe this unique connection. The complexity of the structure-property relations in TM oxides makes the use of the state of the art first-principles calculations necessary. Several chapters give a detailed description of the modern theory of polarization, and heterojunction band discontinuity within the framework of the density functional theory. Experimental methods include oxide melt solution calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, Raman scattering and other optical characterization techniques, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Many of the problems encounterd in the world of CMOS are also relvant for other semiconductors such as GaAs. A comprehensive review of recent developments in this field is thus also given. The book should be of interest to those actively engaged in the gate dielectric research, and to graduate students in Materials Science, Materials Physics, Materials Chemistry, and Electrical Engineering.