Preface: Phys. Status Solidi B 246/3
Authors: Chandrasekhar Meera , Cerdeira Fernando , Lemos Vólia 
Published: February 2009

This issue of physica status solidi (b) contains the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on High Pressure Semiconductor Physics (HPSP13). HPSP13 was a satellite conference to the 29th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors held in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, on July 27– August 01, 2008. The International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors is a series of biennial meetings that began in 1950. This conference and its satellites have been the main forum in the field of semiconductor physics. The choice of Brazil as the venue for ICPS 2008 motivated the High Pressure research group from the “Universidade Federal do Ceará” to submit a proposal to host the HPSP13 in Fortaleza. The HPSP12 organizing committees accepted the proposal during a special meeting held at CosmoCaixa Museum of Science in Barcelona, Spain, on August 2, 2006.

The HPSP13 conference was held in the Hotel Luzeiros, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, on 22–25 July 2008. The scientific program included eleven invited talks, the opening remarks, two highlights of the poster sessions, and the closing remarks. The program also included nineteen oral presentations and two poster sessions. The opening remarks were given by Prof. Tarcísio Haroldo Cavalcante Pequeno, President of “Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – FUNCAP”, CE, Brazil, and the closing remarks by Prof. Bernard A. Weinstein, State University of New York at Buffalo, United States of America. The highlights of poster sessions were given by the invited speakers Prof. Alain Polian, Institut de Minéralogie et de Physique des Milieux Condensés, Paris, France, and Prof. Peter Y. Yu, University of California, Berkeley, United States of America.

A total of 72 participants, scientists and students, were registered at HPSP13. They submitted 48 papers to the proceedings (a special issue of physica status solidi (b)), 44 papers were accepted for publication. These papers describe new and interesting results in the area of physical properties under pressure. The research areas include optical properties, structural transformations, transport properties, electronic structures, superconductivity, and others. The semiconductor materials and solid state systems investigated include crystalline materials, alloys, low dimensional systems, fullerenes, nanotubes, and devices.

HPSP13 was supported financially by “Universidade Federal do Ceará – UFC”, “Petróleo Brasileiro –PETROBRAS”, “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq”, “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES”, “Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – FUNCAP”, “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão – FAPEMA”, European Physical Society – EPS, “Fundação Cearense de Pesquisa e Cultura – FCPC”, “Quantum Tech – Savassi distribuidora Ltda”, and “Spectronix Comércio e Representações Ltda”.

We are very grateful to all participants who came from abroad and traveled long distances, making an extra effort to attend the meeting in Fortaleza. We also thank the authors who contributed one or more papers to the proceedings. We thank the Program and the International Advisory Committee for their invaluable contribution to the conference scientific program. Many thanks are due to the invited speakers for the high scientific content of their well prepared talks. We are indebted to the many reviewers who promptly submitted their detailed referee reports, allowing the Proceedings to appear without delay. Many thanks are also due to the members of the local committee who have always been present to offer their help, as well as to the volunteers from the “Universidade Federal do Ceará”: José Alves de Lima Jr. and Eduardo Bede Barros, who worked at the conference desk during the period of the conference. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the publishers Wiley‐VCH for their efficient editorial procedures.

The 14th International Conference on High Pressure Semiconductor Physics (HPSP14) will be held in China at Jilin University (Changchun, Jilin Province) for about 3 days, directly subsequent to the Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors – 2010, taking place in Seoul. The main members of the HPSP14 organizing committee are: Academician ZOU Guang‐Tian (Chairman), Prof. LI Shu‐Shen (Co‐chair), Prof. LIU Bing‐bing and Prof. TAN Ping‐heng (Secretariats) (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)