It is our policy to publish regularly Special Issues of the journal including papers with a common theme. So far we have grouped papers on a common research theme, such as Molecular Electronics (April 1994) and SiGe alloys (October 1995), but this issue groups papers from the same research centre, the UK Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Semiconductor Materials. Such research centres are now a feature of scientific activity in a number of countries, and it was felt that it would be very educational for international researchers to be aware of the work being carried out in this centre. In this collection of papers, refereed to the high standard required for this journal, one can have some appreciation for the activity in this IRC.
The Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Semiconductor Materials was established to bring together the talents of physicists, chemists, electrical engineers and materials scientists to focus expertise on the growth and characterisation of semiconductors and to exploit this knowledge to develop new device concepts. Since its start in 1989, from a base at Imperial College, London, the Centre has grown to include activities at the