Electrical engineers Balandin and Wang (both of the U. of California) present a five-volume reference handbook aimed at an audience ranging from upper-level undergraduates to advanced researchers interested in advanced and emerging developments in the field of semiconductor nanotechnology. The first of the separately-themed volumes, covering quantum dots, nanowires, and self-assemblies contains ten chapters on different aspects of germanium quantum dots on silicon, controllable growth of nanocrystalline silicon films, growth of semiconductor quantum dots by epitaxy, and properties of silicon nanodots embedded in silicon-based dielectric film, fabrication and characterization of nanodot arrays, and electrochemical synthesis of one-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures. Nanofabrication and nanoscale characterization is the topic of the second volume, which includes chapters on semiconductor nanocrystals, advanced transmission-electron microscopic characterization of semiconductor quantum structures, dilute nitrade semiconductors for optoelectronic devices, properties and applications of nanocrystalline diamond, characterization of semiconductor nanocrystals, and dye-sensitized semiconductor nanostructures. The third volume covers spintronics (spin electronics) and nanoelectronics, with chapters that specifically address spin-lattice relaxation in magnetic semiconductor nanostructures, material and device issues of high-electron mobility transistors, and room-temperature operating silicon single-electron devices, among other topics. The fourth volume deals with the optical processes in semiconductor nanostructures, light-matter interactions, and nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. Finally, volume five presents review chapters on the device applications of nanostructures such as nanocrystal nonvolatile memory, few-electron memory devices, and nanoscale metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. Each chapter includes extensive references. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)