Crystals and films in India

Fundamental research on well characterized single crystal and epitaxial thin films is critical to the design of innovative and sophisticated devices. The area of materials characterization explores the relationship between properties of the materials and their structure. An International Workshop on Preparation and Characterization of Technologically Important Single Crystals (PCSC-2001) organized in February 2001 at National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi covered the following topics: •oxide optoelectronic and sensor applications; semi conducting materials; •thin films, multilayers, quantum wells, interfaces, and solar cells; •characterization of bulk single crystals, thin films, multilayers and their defects; simulation of crystal growth; and instrumentation for crystal growth and high resolution X-ray diffraction techniques.

The Proceedings of the workshop (including 136 papers) were distributed to 180 registered participants.

A special session was organized to honor Krishan Lal on his 60^th birthday.

Various dances of India were depicted in a cultural program.

An opening discussion lead to the following suggestions:

1. Future meetings should have an exhibition of industrial products.
2. Advanced facilities for characterization of materials at the national level should be established.
3. A Society on Materials Characterization should be formed in India and
4. Advanced courses on materials characterization should be introduced at post graduate level.

The workshop was sponsored by The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Physical Lab, Indian Nat’l Science Academy, the Dept of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information Technology, the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, the All India Council of Technical Education, the Indian Inst. of Technology, and the Int’l Union of Crystallography, Chester, England. An IUCr contribution helped support 37 young researchers who attended the workshop.

Invited speakers included: G. Heger, H. Klapper, R. Kohler of Germany; B.M. Arora, R.K. Bagai, D.N. Bose, P.N. Kotru, Krishnan Lal, J. Lakshmana Rao, V.D. Vankar of India; T. Fukada, Ken Suto of Japan; I. Lyubutin of Russia; J.N. Sherwood of UK; and M. Dudley, V. Greenhut, V. Prasad, I.L. Smolsky of the USA.

S.K. Halder