This authoritative reference book covers the entire spectrum of R&D activities in silicon, germanium, and their alloys, presenting the latest achievements in the field of crystal growth, point defects, extended defects, and impurities of silicon and germanium nanocrystals. Its chapters span bulk, thin film, and nanostructured materials growth and characterization problems, theoretical modeling, crystal defects, diffusion, and issues such as chemical etching as a defect delineation technique, the spectroscopic analysis of impurities, and the use of devices as tools for the measurement of materials quality.

Gudrun Kissinger is currently a project leader in industrial cooperation with Siltronic AG at IHP - Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. She holds a Ph.D in crystallography from the University of Leipzig. In 1990, Dr. Kissinger was a guest scientist at the Institute for Microelectronics in Stuttgart in the field of wafer bonding. She also cofounded the start-up company Communicant Semiconductor Technologies AG. Dr. Kissinger has published more than 100 technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings. She is a member of the Electrochemical Society (ECS), and has co-chaired several international symposia for the Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) and the European Materials Research Society (EMRS).

Sergio Pizzini is the author of more than 250 technical articles published in peer-reviewed international journals. He has authored or coauthored four books, including Advanced Silicon Materials for Photovoltaic Applications, and been chairman or co-chairman of a number of international symposia. Throughout his illustrious career, he has conducted scientific studies with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, served as an associate professor at the University of Milano, worked as a director of the Materials Department of the Corporate Research Centre of Montedison, acted as the CEO of two research companies, and been a full-time professor of physical chemistry at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

Modern Aspects of Czochralski and Multicrystalline Silicon Crystal Growth. Growth and Characterization of Silicon-Germanium Alloys. Germanium on Silicon: Epitaxy and Applications. Self-Interstitials in Silicon and Germanium. Vacancies in Si and Ge. Self- and Dopant Diffusion in Silicon, Germanium, and Their Alloys. Hydrogen in Si and Ge. Point Defect Complexes in Silicon. Defect Delineation in Silicon Materials by Chemical Etching Techniques. Investigation of Defects and Impurities in Silicon by Infrared and Photoluminescence Spectroscopies. Device Operation as Crystal Quality Probe. Silicon and Germanium Nanocrystals.