Advances in Physics of Semiconductors

Abstract

It is my pleasure to write this preface to the Special Section in the May 2023 issue of pss(b), dedicated to the collection of selected works presented during the 35th International Conference on Physics of Semiconductors (ICPS) held in Sydney, Australia in 2022. It was one of the first meetings post the pandemic and it was wonderful to see the community gathering physically together. The ICPS series traditionally encompasses a variety of topics spanning device physics, quantum technologies, spin physics, wide bandgap materials, light–matter interactions, and other branches of materials science, physics and engineering. The collection to follow offers a glimpse into what has been presented, and showcases the excellent science undertaken around the globe. A growing interest in the scientific community is currently evolving around van der Waals crystals, and other two-dimensional systems. It is therefore no surprise, several works focus on these topics – discussing various excitonic, photonic, magnetic, and terahertz properties. Various spin phenomena effects are also discussed in traditional semiconductors such as GaAs/GaN and SiGe. Works on plasmonic gap cavities and electroluminescence as well as theoretical calculations of electronic structures are also included. The ICPS series has been continuously going now for over 70 years, one of the longest running conference series in the world. As we are preparing for the next meeting in Ottawa, Canada, the collection of papers should inspire our junior colleagues, that not only semiconductor physics is here to stay, but in fact, it is a multi-disciplinary and burgeoning field of research.