Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Applications in Sensor, Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Technology : Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Applications in Sensors, Optoelectroni

The principal aim of this NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Applications in Sensor, Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Technology" was to present a contemporary overview of the field of nanostructured and advanced electronic materials. Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific field receiving significant worldwide attention. On a nanometer scale, materials or structures may possess new and unique physical properties. Some of these are now known to the scientific community, but there may well be many properties not yet known to us, rendering it as a fascinating area of research and a suitable subject for a NATO ASI. Yet another aspect of the field is the possibility for creating meta-stable phases with unconventional properties and the ultra-miniaturization of current devices, sensors, and machines. Such nanotechnological and related advanced materials have an extremely wide range of potential applications, viz. nanoscale electronics, sensors, optoelectronics, photonics, nano-biological systems, na- medicine, energy storage systems, etc. This is a wide-ranging subject area and therefore requires the formation of multi-disciplinary teams of physicists, chemists, materials scientists, engineers, molecular biologists, pharmacologists, and others to work together on the synthesis and processing of materials and structures, the understanding of their physical properties, the design and fabrication of devices, etc. Hence, in formulating our ASI, we adopted an int- disciplinary approach, bringing together recognised experts in the various fields while retaining a level of treatment accessible to those active in specific individual areas of research and development.

Preface.- Invited Papers: Nanostructured materials based next generation devices and sensors; A. Vaseashta.- Metal-induced crystallization an advanced technology for producing polycrystalline Si films on foreign substrates; D. Dimova-Malinovska.- Electronic characterisation and modelling of disordered semiconductors; J. M. Marshall, C. Main.- Spectroscopy of rare earth ions; R. Reisfeld.- Nanostructured and advanced materials for bio-applications; D. Dimova-Malinovska .-Transmission electron microscopy imaging of nanoparticulate matter; H. Hofmeister.- Matrix embedded metal and semiconductor nanoparticles; H. Hofmeister.- From nanoparticles to nanorods and nanowires; H. Hofmeister.- ZnO - an advanced material for solar cell, optoelectronic and sensor applications; D. Dimova-Malinovska.- Ion beam nanostructuring of materials; J.-C. Pivin.- Porous silicon for sensor applications; A.. Nassiopoulou.- Luminescent nanoparticles: Colloid synthesis and emission properties; T. Gacoin.- Nanoparticles: Functionalization and elaboration of materials; T. Gacoin.- Organized mesoporous thin films; T. Gacoin.- Photovoltaics in the world; S. M. Pietruszko.- Nano-structured materials for a hydrogen economy; D. Perniu et al.- Nano-structured functional materials: The defect chemistry; J. Schoonman.- Nano-structured materials for the conversion of sustainable energy; J. Schoonman.- Seminar Papers: Double-walled carbon nanotubes: Synthesis and filling by l-D nanocrystals; E. Flauhaut.- Kinetics of field-aided nickel induced lateral crystallisation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon; A. J. Flewitt et al.- Silicon thin-film solar cells; W. Fuhs.- Nanocavity structures produced by ion implantation into silicon for semiconductor applications; R. E. Hurley et al.- Nanocrystal superlattices ofcopper, silver and gold, by nanomachining; A..A.. Ponce et al.- Raman scattering from low-dimensional semiconductors; D. Nesheva.- Selected Contributed Papers: Stress state and twin configuration of spheroidal silver nanoparticles in glass; A. Berger et al.- Synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic and dielectric properties of nanosized strontium and barium titanates; D.V. Demydov , K. J. Klabunde.- Properties of ß-FeSi2 quantum structures grown on silicon; L. Dózsa et al.- Zinc oxide nanowires on non-epitaxial substrates from colloidal processing for gas sensing applications; A. Sugunan et al.- Structural properties of poly-Si thin films obtained by aluminium-induced crystallization in different atmospheres; V. Grigorov et al.- Challenges of growing CuAlSe2 by physical vapor deposition; M. W. Haimbodi et al. Silicon-on-insulator thin films grown by liquid phase epitaxy; I. Jozwik et al.- Recrystallization of CdTe under conditions of high temperature and pressure; V. Mikli, J. Hue.- Prospective investigations of biofuel cells as sources for applications in nanobiotechnology; I. Stamatin et al.- Electronic properties of a peanut-shaped C60 polymer; J. Onoe .- The gel trapping technique: A novel method for characterizing the wettability of microparticles and the replication of particle monolayers; V. N. Paunov, 0. J. Cayre .- Ideal nano-emitters and panel nano-devices based on 2D crystals of superconducting nanotubes; V. V. Pokropivny et al.- Photoluminescence and XPS study of selenium treated porous silicon; R. Jarimaviciute-Zvalioniene et al.- Synthesis and characterization of PbS nanocrystal assemblies; T. Saraidarov, R. Reisfeld.- Laser assisted fragmentation of silver and copper nanoclusters in Si02 thin films; M. Sendova et al.- Nd3+ photoluminescence in silica thin films; M. Sendova-Vassileva et al.- Characterization of the metal-semiconductor interface for silicon carbide based sensors; A. A. Woodworth et al.- Nanoparticles, nanoporous and carbon nanotube based devices for bio-molecular detection; A. Vaseashta et al.- Crystallisation of apatite stoichiometric ionomer glasses for medical