Preface

Summary

In writing a preface, an author is faced with the question: what is this book of mine? Of course, in the end only the reader will decide what it really is. The scope of this preface, as of all prefaces, is to say what it was intended to be.

This book tries to offer a reasonably complete description of the physical phenomena which make solid materials grow in a certain way, homogeneous or not, rough or smooth. These phenomena belong to chemistry, quantum physics, mechanics, statistical mechanics. However, chemistry, mechanics and quantum physics are essentially the same during growth as they are at equilibrium. The statistical aspects are quite different. For this reason, the authors have insisted on statistical mechanics.

Another reason to emphasize the statistical mechanical concepts is that they will probably survive. The concepts developed many years ago by Frank, or more recently by Kardar, Parisi and Zhang are still valid while, for instance, quantum mechanical calculations of the relevant energy parameters will certainly evolve a lot in the next few years. We have not considered it useful to devote too many pages to them, but we have tried to present the frame in which the data can be inserted, as soon as they are known.

However, although emphasis is on statistical mechanics, other aspects are not ignored, even though they may have been treated somewhat superficially. The reader will find more detailed information in an extensive bibliography, where all titles are given in extenso, thus making its use much easier.

This book is mainly devoted to growth, and therefore to non-equilibrium processes.