This volume contains invited and contributed papers presented at the conference on ‘Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials’ held at the University of Cambridge on 2-5 April 2007. The event was organised under the auspices of the Electron Microscopy and Analysis Group of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Microscopical Society and the Materials Research Society. This international conference was the fifteenth in the series that focuses on the most recent world-wide advances in semiconductor studies carried out by all forms of microscopy and it attracted delegates from more than 20 countries. With the relentless evolution of advanced electronic devices into ever smaller nanoscale structures, the problem relating to the means by which device features can be visualised on this scale becomes more acute. This applies not only to the imaging of the general form of layers that may be present but also to the determination of composition and doping variations that are employed. In view of this scenario, the vital importance of transmission and scanning electron microscopy, together with X-ray and scanning probe approaches can immediately be seen. The conference featured developments in high resolution microscopy and nanoanalysis, including the exploitation of recently introduced aberration-corrected electron microscopes. All associated imaging and analytical techniques were demonstrated in studies including those of self-organised and quantum domain structures. Many analytical techniques based upon scanning probe microscopies were also much in evidence, together with more general applications of X-ray diffraction methods.
The fifteenth international conference on Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials took place in Cambridge, UK on 2-5 April 2007. It was organised by the Institute of Physics, with co-sponsorship by the Royal Microscopical Society and endorsement by the Materials Research Society. The conference focused upon the most recent advances in the study of the structural and electronic properties of semiconducting materials by the application of transmission and scanning electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy and X-ray-based methods.
Conference sessions concentrated on key topics including state-of-the-art studies in high resolution imaging and analytical electron microscopy, advanced scanning probe microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam applications, novel epitaxial layer phenomena, the properties of quantum nanostructures, III-nitride developments, GeSi/Si for advanced devices, metal-semiconductor contacts and silicides and the important effects of critical device processing treatments. Accordingly, this volume should be of direct interest to researchers in areas ranging from fundamental studies to electronic device assessment.
