This book provides the reader with a clear picture of the current status of surface and thin-film science in Latin America, treating both pure and applied aspects. It will be of particular interest to surface scientists and research administrators.

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 andInterface 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 TransientCharge 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 ofElementary 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.