Materials Science and Technology A Comprehensive Treatment Edited by R.W. Cahn, P. Haasen, E.J. Kramer The 18–volume series ‘Materials Science and Technology’ is the first in–depth, topic–oriented reference work devoted to this growing interdisciplinary field. A compendium of current, state–of–the–art information, it covers the most important classes of materials: metals, ceramics, glasses, polymers, semiconductors, and composites, from the fundamentals of perfect semiconductors via the physics of defects, to "artifical" and amorphous semiconductors. Edited by internationally renowned figures in materials science, this series is sure to establish itself as a seminal work. Volume 4: This volume spans the field of semiconductor physics, with particular emphasis on concepts relevant to semiconductor technology. Topics included are: band theory applied to semiconductors ?? optical properties and charge transport ?? intrinsic point defects in semiconductors ?? deep centers in semiconductors ?? equilibria, nonequilibria, diffusion, and precipitation ?? dislocations ?? grain boundaries in semiconductors ?? interfaces ?? the hall effect in quantum wires ?? material properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon ?? high–temperature properties of three–dimensional transition elements in silicon.