This eighth volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which appeared between the publication of Annual Retrospective VII (Volumes 230-232) and the end of 2005 (allowing for vagaries of journal availability).

This proceedings volume contains 126 contributions from the 11th international meeting on Gettering and Defect Engineering in Semiconductor Technology GADEST 2005 held at “La Badine” at the Giens peninsula south of France.

This collection of abstracts of experimental and theoretical papers on the subject of diffusion in silicon is intended to complement earlier volumes (DDF153-155) which covered the previous decade’s work on the same topic.

This book presents a wealth of valuable up-to-date information for active researchers and engineers, and will certainly form a solid basis for any future research, in the field of abrasive technology, which is aimed at creating new and practical machine tools, systems and processes, or at identifying new characteristics.

Multifunctional materials are composite systems that exhibit useful responses to electrical, optical, magnetic and/or mechanical stimuli. They allow the compact and economic integration of two or more functions; which can be mechanical, biological, acoustic, thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical or sensory in nature. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are also multi-functional materials, which exhibit spatial variations in composition and/or microstructure; created with the specific purpose of controlling variations in thermal, structural or functional properties. In spite of large differences in the type and size scale of the materials considered, many common features exist, thus furnishing a rationale for grouping these materials together in one book.

This book is sub-divided into 10 different topical sections; each dealing with important issues in surface cleaning and preparation.

Silicon Carbide (SiC), Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Diamond are examples of wide-bandgap semiconductors having chemical, electrical and optical properties which make them very attractive for the fabrication of high-power and high-frequency electronic devices, as well as of light-emitters and sensors which have to operate under harsh conditions.

Significant progress has been made over the past 30 years in handling silicon-based ceramics such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide, SiAlON, silicides and composites. A better understanding of processing parameters in various forming techniques, and of microstructure-property relationships, has led to substantial improvements in thermomechanical performance and reliability; as well as in cost reduction.

This indispensable work is the fifth in a series of international conferences devoted to advanced materials and processing. The conferences, which are held every three years, are jointly sponsored by the Chinese Society for Metals (CSM), the Japan Institute of Metals (JIM), the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials (KIM), and the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), and organized by them in rotation. The purpose of this international conference, PRICM, is to provide a forum for the exchange of technical and scientific information, which is always of great benefit to researchers, manufacuturers and end-users.

This collection comprises a selection of over 180 papers; submitted to the editors by numerous universities and industrial concerns, and subjected to peer-review by at least two expert referees. The papers were selected on the basis of their quality, and their combined coverage of the main topics of the book.