In this book "surface science" is understood in a broad sense, taken to include two-dimensional structures such as thin films and superlattices. Thecontributions reflect current research activities in surface and thin-film science in Latin-America, presenting a clear picture of the research centers, equipment and expertise available in the region in this rapidly developing field of physics. The topics treated cover the whole spectrum of the subject, with the latest theoretical results beingreported alongside details of industrial applications such as materials characterization and photovoltaic cells. Surface scientists, engineers and research admistrators will find this volume of interest.

Inhalt

I Introductory Contributions.- The Sixth Latin American Symposium on Surface Physics.- Professor Nicolás Cabrera Sanchez (1913-1989): A Family Perspective of His Scientific Career.- Don Nicolás Cabrera in Mexico.- II Electronic Structure of Surfaces.- Dynamical Response of an Overlayer of Alkali-Metal Atoms Adsorbed on a Free-Electron Metal Surface.- Self-Diffusion by Place Exchange on Smooth Surfaces.- The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble.- Surface Normal Modes of a "Real" Electron Gas.- On Plasmon Dispersion Measurements by EELS.- The Electronic Band Structure of Penrose Lattices: A Renormalization Approach.- III Atomic Arrangement at Surfaces and Interfaces.- Spin vs Charge Asymmetry in the Dimers of the Si(100)-2xl Surface.- HRTEM of Decahedral Gold Particles.- The Structure of Gold Icosahedral Nanoclusters.- Reflection Electron Microscopy and Reflection Electron Diffraction in the Electron Microscope.- Studies of Chemisorption with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope.- Automation and Control of a Commercial Scanning Tunneling Microscope.- IV Interaction Between Radiation and Surfaces.- Electron and Photon Stark Ladders in Finite Solids.- Electron Energy Loss in STEM Spectra.- Chemical Information from Auger Electron Spectroscopy.- Electron Energy Loss Studies of Surface Phonons on Crystal Surfaces.- Auger Electron Spectroscopy Measurements on Na ?"-Alumina Crystals.- Forward Focusing Effect in the Elastic Scattering of Electrons from Cu(001).- XPS Characterization of Nitrogen-Implanted Titanium with Pulsed Ion Beams.- V Processes at Surfaces: Interface Formation.- Microscopic Phenomena in Epitaxy.- Competition Between Nucleation and Two-Dimensional Step Growth in Molecular Beam Epitaxy.- Fermi Level Readjustments on Adsorption and Interface Formation.- Effective Dielectric Response of a Composite with Aligned Ellipsoidal Inclusions.- Heat Capacity Measurements of p-H2 and o-D2 Adsorbed on Graphite at Low Temperatures.- The Growth of Cobalt on Cu(100): An Angle Resolved Auger Electron Spectroscopy Study.- Water Adsorption on Copper: Artifacts Emerging During AES.- Model Calculations of the Indirect Interaction Between Chemisorbed Atoms.- Manifestation of Non-equilibrium Behavior in Thermal Desorption Dynamics.- The First Stages of Oxidation of Polycrystalline Cobalt Studied with Electron Spectroscopies.- Cluster Model for the Interaction of K with Si(100).- A Model to Consider Clustering Effects for Composites.- VI Properties of Thin Films.- Solar Energy Materials: Survey and Some Examples.- The Optical Response of Composites at Low Filling Fractions: A New Diagrammatic Summation.- Determination of Impurity Content in SnO2 Thin Films Using Nuclear Reactions.- Electrochromic dc Sputtered Nickel-Oxide-Based Films: Optical Structural, and Electrochemical Characterization.- Photoluminescence Characterization of the Crystalline Quality in Intrinsic GaAs Epitaxial Layers.- Optical Properties of Thin Films of Polymerized Acetylene Deposited by dc and rf Glow Discharge.- Incoherent Light Assisted CuInSe2 Thin Film Processing.- A Study of the Dispersive Behavior of an Anisotropic Gold Film on Mica.- A Non-homogeneous Thin Film Model and the Evaluation of Its Properties by Ellipsometric Methods.- Computer Aided Ellipsometry Applied to Thin Films.- Electrical Resistance in Hydrogenated Nb Thin Films.- Interdiffusion of Cu-In Films Studied by the Resistometric Method.- Structure and Optical Absorption of Liy V2O5 Thin Films.- VII Semiconductors.- Phonons in Semiconductor Superlattices.- Dispersive Transient Charge Carrier Transport in Polycrystalline Films of CdTe.- Fabrication and Theoretical Simulation of Cu(In, Ga)Se2/(ZnCd)S Thin Film Solar Cells.- Photoelectric Response of Thin Films for Solar Cells.- Characterization of Palladium Contacts to a-Si:H and a-Si:N:H.- Chemical Homogeneity and Charge Transfer in Amorphous Si-N Alloys.- Photocurrent Oscillations in a-SiC:H Double Barrier Devices Exhibiting Negative Differential Resistance.- Complex Refractive Index of a-Si:F Thin Films.- Bonding Structure of Amorphous SiNx:H Films.- TFTs with an a-SiCx:H Insulator Layer.- Thermal Depth Profiling of Solar Cells by Acoustic Calorimetry.- Study of the Optical Properties of CdTe Thin Films Grown by rf Sputtering.- VIII Superlattices and Quantum Effects.- Metallic Superlattices: Structural and Elastic Properties.- Analysis of the Tight-Binding Description of the Structure of Metallic 2D Systems.- Magneto-Electro Optical Absorption of a Semiconductor Superlattice.- A Tight-Binding Study of Interface States in Ultra-Thin Quantum Wells of HgTe in CdTe.- IX Long Range Interaction: Magnetism and Superconductivity.- Local Pair Phenomenological Approach to the Normal State Properties of High-Tc Superconductors.- Low Dimensional Magnetism.- Phase Transitions in Ultrathin Films.- Magnetotunneling Current Through Semiconductor Microstructures.- Preparation and Properties of High-Tc Superconducting Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O Thick Films by a Melting-Quenching-Annealing Method.- Theoretical Analysis of Surface States in Ta(100).- Magneto-Optical Studies of Ultrathin Fe/W(100) Films.- X Applications: Catalysis, Corrosion, Absorbâtes.- Chemisorption Studies of Catalytic Reactions.- Catalytic Behavior of Perovskite-Type Oxides.- Implanted Tin Oxide Thin Films for Selective Gas Sensing.- Detection of Elementary Particles Using Superconducting Transition-Edge Phonon Sensors on Silicon Crystals.- Characterization of Corrosion Film in Galvanized Steel Exposed to Atmospheric Corrosion.- Index of Contributors.- List of Participants.