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.
This book gives the state of the art in understanding and tailoring point defects in group IV semiconductors. The reader will find useful and complete information about the mechanisms of formation, migration, and interaction of intrinsic and extrinsic point defects in Si, Ge, and SiGe alloys. This is a unique feature of this work, as it offers the possibility of comparing the peculiar behavior of Si, Ge, and related alloys under one single cover. -Professor Roberto Fornari, Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Parma, Italy This book describes the growth models, impurities, defects, and nanocrystals of silicon, germanium, and their alloys. It is organized well and written by experts with high international reputation in this area. I am attracted by the content in this book. Especially, the book illustrates in detail the formation, diffusion, aggregation, and analysis of point defects not only in silicon, but also in germanium and their alloys, which [provides a] ... better understanding of defects in element semiconductor materials. I would like to have this book on my shelf. It is an excellent reference for engineers, researchers, and students. -Professor Deren Yang, State Key Lab of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China