Electronic Materials: A New Era in Materials Science

Modem materials science is exploiting novel tools of solid-state physics and chemistry to obtain an unprecedented understanding of the structure of matter at the atomic level. The direct outcome of this understanding is the ability to design and fabricate new materials whose properties are tailored to a given device ap­ plication. Although applications of materials science can range from low weight, high strength composites for the automobile and aviation industry to biocompat­ ible polymers, in no other field has progress been more strikingly rapid than in that of electronic materials. In this area, it is now possible to predict from first principles the properties of hypothetical materials and to construct artificially structured materials with layer-by-Iayer control of composition and microstruc­ ture. The resulting superlattices, multiple quantum wells, and high temperature superconductors, among others, will dominate our technological future. A large fraction of the current undergraduate and graduate students in science and engi­ neering will be directly involved in furthering the revolution in electronic mate­ rials. With this book, we want to welcome such students to electronic materials research and provide them with an introduction to this exciting and rapidly de­ veloping area of study. A second purpose of this volume is to provide experts in other fields of solid­ state physics and chemistry with an overview of contemporary research within the field of electronic materials.