Because surfaces and interfaces found in oxide systems are strikingly complex, they can only be fully understood when examined at an atomic level. Yet for the materials scientist, such understanding is of paramount importance since future technological advances require it. This book, the second in a new series from the Materials Research Society, addresses structure-property relationships in these systems. Compared to the first proceedings, here we see a shift towards less well-defined materials that often more closely resemble reality, and an increasing effort to study these phenomena using in situ techniques. Of particular interest are discussions on the dynamical evolution of surface structure and relationships between the structure of surfaces, their stoichiometry and the distribution of bulk dislocations, which in turn can control the growth and retraction of islands and pits. Modeling and characterization of thin intergranular films, with a focus on how these films influence the properties of so many ceramic materials, are also addressed.
