Ternary and Multinary Compounds

Abstract

AbstractThe 18th International Conference on Ternary and Multinary Compounds (ICTMC‐18) was held on 27–31 August 2012 at the Paris‐Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria. This conference has followed the tradition of being an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information and experience in the exciting field of materials science of ternary and multinary compounds, which was initiated in 1973 in Bath, UK, by Prof. Brian Pamplin.Scientific sessions as well as keynote lectures on various topics of current interest have covered a wide range of materials science on ternary and multinary compounds, their synthesis, their properties, and their applications. About 40% of the presentations were devoted to ternary and quaternary materials for thin film photovoltaics as the traditional main topic of the ICTMC conference series, but also new topics emerged, like materials for energy storage and thermoelectrics. Interestingly, about 10% of the contributions were devoted to ab‐initio calculations of electron and phonon spectra of ternary and quaternary materials for energy conversion or storage.The scientific programme of the ICTMC‐18 included 6 exciting keynote lectures and 42 interesting oral contributions. Three poster sessions provided time for scientific discussions. Most of these contributions are included in the present proceedings.We were happy about a broad participation. Colleagues from 21 countries set the basis for an exciting meeting: Japan, Germany, Azerbaijan, France, Austria, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, China, India, Belarus, Portugal, The Netherlands and Spain (order according to the number of participants). We also received positive feedback concerning the social programme of the ICTMC‐18, organized within the historical city of Salzburg.The Guest Editors would like to express their thanks to the members of the International Advisory Committee, to the Local Organizing Ccommittee, to the Sponsors Chemetall GmbH and Carl‐Zeiss GmbH, and to all who contributed to this conference with their support and advice. We are very grateful to the referees for their contributions during the editorial process.The next conference, ICTMC‐19, will be held at Toki Messe in Niigata, Japan, chaired by Prof. Tsuboi. We convey to the organizers our best wishes for a successful meeting.The Guest Editors