In recent years the mathematical modeling of charge transport in semi­ conductors has become a thriving area in applied mathematics. The drift diffusion equations, which constitute the most popular model for the simula­ tion of the electrical behavior of semiconductor devices, are by now mathe­ matically quite well understood. As a consequence numerical methods have been developed, which allow for reasonably efficient computer simulations in many cases of practical relevance. Nowadays, research on the drift diffu­ sion model is of a highly specialized nature. It concentrates on the explora­ tion of possibly more efficient discretization methods (e.g. mixed finite elements, streamline diffusion), on the improvement of the performance of nonlinear iteration and linear equation solvers, and on three dimensional applications. The ongoing miniaturization of semiconductor devices has prompted a shift of the focus of the modeling research lately, since the drift diffusion model does not account well for charge transport in ultra integrated devices. Extensions of the drift diffusion model (so called hydrodynamic models) are under investigation for the modeling of hot electron effects in submicron MOS-transistors, and supercomputer technology has made it possible to employ kinetic models (semiclassical Boltzmann-Poisson and Wigner­ Poisson equations) for the simulation of certain highly integrated devices.

Lasers, having proven useful in such diverse areas as high­ resolution spectroscopy and the guiding of ferryboats, are cur­ rently enjoying great popularity among materials scientists and engineers. As versatile sources of "pure" energy in a highly concentrated form, lasers have become attractive tools and re­ search instruments in metallurgy, semiconductor technology and engineering. This text treats, from a physicist's point of view, some of the processes that lasers can induce in materials. The field of laser-material interactions is inherently mul­ tidisciplinary. Upon impact of a laser beam on a material, electromagnetic energy is converted first into electronic exci­ tation and then into thermal, chemical and mechanical energy. In the whole process the molecular structure as well as the shape of the material are changed in various ways. Understand­ ing this sequence of events requires knowledge from several branches of physics. A unified presentation of the subject, for the benefit of the materials researcher as well as the advanced student, is attempted here. In order to keep the book reason­ ably trim, I have focused on laser effects in solids such as thin films and technological materials. Related topiCS not cov­ ered are laser-induced chemical reactions in gases and liquids and laser effects in organic or biological materials.

The assembly of electronic circuit boards has emerged as one of the most significant growth areas for robotics and automated assembly. This comprehensive volume, which is an edited collection of material mostly published in "Assembly Engineering" and "Electronic Packaging and Production", will provide an essential reference for engineers working in this field, including material on Multi Layer Boards, Chip-on-board and numerous case studies. Frank J. Riley is senior vice-president of the Bodine Corporation and a world authority on assembly automation.

The publication of Introduction to Robotics is one among the results of many years' work by the authors of this book in the study of robotics. During the first stage of this work, devoted to locomotion robots and anthropomorphic mechanisms in particular, a number of papers were published in the period 1974-76. The most prominent of them is M. VukobratoviC's Legged Locomotion Systems and Anthropomorphic Mechanisms, published in English, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.

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