This GRC is a merger of the long-running GRC on "Chemistry of Electronic Materials" (last meeting, summer 95) with the much newer GRC called "Excitations at Semiconductor Surfaces: Fundamentals and Applications" (last meeting, summer 94).
In order to develop a unified program for what is at first sight a heterogeneous set of topics, we have included under "excitations" molecular and collective excited states--and their relation to light emission, as well as excited states and non-thermal pathways in chemical reactions relevant to synthesis and processing of electronic materials. We have woven those themes through a series of talks on the growth, processing, and performance of three exciting new materials systems--Group III Nitride Semiconductors, Organic Thin Films, and Quantum Confinement Structures -- which appear on the verge of significant technological break-throughs in photonics and optoelectronics. We seek to stimulate communication among these three materials communities, especially on the crucial role of chemistry in moving these materials even closer to technological success.
We draw special attention to: the keynote session on requirements for quantum materials for computing and communicating in the 21st century; the session describing newer synthetic methods, expected to have major impact on electronic materials in the next decade; and
the session describing newer and very powerful optical techniques for in situ monitoring during growth and processing.
As is traditional in the Gordon Conference format, we will have morning and evening technical lectures, with the afternoons free for discussion and recreation. Discussion leaders will provide 15-20 minute overviews of the field at the beginning of each session. On Monday and Wednesday evenings we will have poster sessions after the lectures. We will place great emphasis on informal discussions, with ample opportunity for private conversations. The talks will not be written up as manuscripts, and there will be no written "proceedings" from the Conference. The entire Conference is informal and "off the record". Its purpose is to stimulate discussions of these important scientific and technological questions.
