Ternary and Multinary Compounds

Abstract

This special issue of physica status solidi (a) contains a selection of articles addressing current and emerging topics in the science and engineering of ternary and multinary compounds. The contributions to this collection originate from research presented at the 21st International Conference on Ternary and Multinary Compounds (ICTMC-21) held September 9–13, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Since 1973, key advancements in both the fundamental science and the practical application of ternary and multinary compounds have been addressed in the vibrant interdisciplinary forum of the ICTMC conference series, and the ICTMC-21 proudly upheld that tradition. The ICTMC-21 scientific program was well attended by a diverse international community, and was composed of 21 invited contributions, 63 oral presentations and 49 posters. The range of topics spanned important advancements in the synthesis and characterization, theory and simulation, and application of ternary and multinary compounds, with several of these advancements reported in the 17 Original Papers in the collection. A special focus of the conference was dedicated to the topic of metastable materials, such as structural polymorphs and semiconductor alloys, non-equilibrium synthesis techniques, and corresponding theoretical and experimental approaches. These topics are highlighted in the Feature Article,1 Review Article2 and Expert Opinion3 contributed to the special issue, as well as in contributed submissions. The Guest Editors wish to express their appreciation to the authors of the articles submitted to this collection, to the referees for their contributions during the editorial process, and to Stefan Hildebrandt and the pss(a) team for bringing this issue to fruition to the benefit of the scientific community. The ICTMC-21 organizers wish to express their gratitude to the members of the International Advisory and Local Organizing Committees for their support and guidance, to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for their sponsorship, and to all those who have contributed to the content and success of the ICTMC-21. The next conference, ICTMC-22, will be held 2020 in Beijing, China, and will be chaired by Prof. Su-Huai Wei. We convey our best wishes for a successful meeting to the upcoming organizers. Andriy Zakutayev, Geoff Brennecka, and Aaron Holder