This book discusses experimental studies and advanced computer simulations to document diffusion processes and various other properties operative in advanced technological materials. It centers on the interplay among the atomic arrangements, defects, and driving forces commonly encountered in solids used in bulk or thin films in determining diffusion and, ultimately, the reliability of materials used in advanced technologies.

From the Preface: “...This book is about the games atoms play in diffusion and various other properties of materials. While diffusion has been studied for more than 100 years in solids, its importance, excitement, and intellectual challenges remain undiminished with time. It is central to understanding the relationship between the structure and properties of naturally occurring and synthetic materials, which is at the root of current technological development and innovations. The diversity of material has led to spectacular progress in functional inorganics, polymers, granular materials, photonics, complex oxides, metallic glasses, quasi-crystals, and strongly correlated electronic materials. The integrity of complex materials packages is determined by diffusion, a highly interactive and synergic phenomenon that interrelates to the microstructure, the microchemistry, and the superimposed physical fields...”

Target Audience: Engineers, chemists, materials scientists, and physicists in industry and academia who are involved with nanotechnology, surface science, and semiconductors.

Table of Contents:

Diffusion in Bulk Solids and Thin Films: Some Phenomenological Examples

Solid State Diffusion and Bulk Properties

Atomistic Computer Simulation of Diffusion

Bulk and Grain Boundary Diffusion in Intermetallic Compounds

Diffusion Barriers in Semiconductor Devices/Circuits

Reactive Phase Formation: Some Theory and Applications

Metal Diffusion in Polymers and on Polymer Surfaces

Measurement of Stresses in Thin Films and Their Relaxation

Electromigration in Cu Thin Films

Diffusion in Some Perovskites: HTSC Cuprates and a Piezoelectric Ceramic

Index