In addition to traditional themes of synthesis, structure and optoelectronic properties of nano- and microcrystalline semiconductors, this book, first published in 1999, reports on properties leading to new optical and biological applications. Individual nanocrystals, as well as nanocrystalline and microcrystalline semiconductors and thin films, represent an interesting class of materials whose properties differ from those of their single-crystal and amorphous counterparts. For example, the electrical, optical and chemical properties may be dominated by surface- and grain-boundary phenomena,...