The computer and communications age has catapulted electronics to its current status as the dominant global industry. We are in the midst of a revolution stimulated by the availability of inexpensive information acquisition, manipulation, and distribution systems. This revolution is dependent on our ability to control electronic materials and materials processing techniques for the manufacture of useful devices, circuits, and systems. Exploitation of electron and hole conduction in solids has resulted in electronic memory and logic circuits such as the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and microprocessors. Control of the interaction of photons with solids has resulted in optical devices such as the laser and optical-fiber networks. The reparation and detailed processing sequence of a material from crystal growth through device and circuit fabrication determines the microstructure and electronic properties of the material and, therefore, device and circuit characteristics. Device and circuit performance, yield, and reliability are strongly dependent on the interaction between the properties and processing of materials. The Electronics and Photonics Division (EPD) actively promotes the dissemination of information involving these phenomena.
