Amorphous and disordered materials - The basis of new industries

As in the past, materials will shape the new century. Dramatic changes are taking place in the fields of energy and information based on new synthetic materials. In energy, the generation of electricity by amorphous silicon alloy thin film photovoltaics; the storage of electricity in nickel meted hydride batteries which are the batteries of choice for electric and hybrid vehicles. In the information field, phase change memories based on a reversible amorphous to crystalline transformation are widely used as optical memories and are the choice for the new rewritable CDs and DVDs. The scientific and technological bases for these three fields that have become the enabling technologies are amorphous and disordered materials. We will discuss how disordered, multielemental, multiphase materials can throw new light upon metallic conductivity in both bulk and thin film materials. We will demonstrate new types of amorphous devices that have the ability to learn and adapt, making possible new concepts for computers.