Preface: phys. stat. sol. (a) 205/9
Authors: Nesládek Miloš , Haenen Ken 
Published: September 2008

Dear colleague,

You are reading the preface of the 10th consecutively published SBDD proceedings in pss (a). We are very happy to celebrate this anniversary with 29 papers gathered in this issue. It gives a thorough overview over different topics that were presented during the Hasselt Diamond Workshop 2008 – SBDD XIII, which took place from 25 to 27 February, for the first time at the cultuurcentrum Hasselt (Hasselt's cultural centre) in Hasselt, Belgium. The need for a new venue had become obvious, and is also an indicator of the dynamic evolution of the field of CVD diamond. Since 1996 the meeting has grown as a vibrant forum for rapid and intense discussions on scientific and technological topics, including fundamental and application‐driven viewpoints. Since 2003, the emphasis on growth and properties of high quality epitaxial diamond, nanocrystalline diamond and nanostructured carbon materials stimulated interests in the converging fields of electronics, physics, biology, chemistry and medicine. The 13th edition of SBDD featured 9 invited lectures, 36 contributed oral presentations and 50 posters in several sessions, including new topics such as graphene. The success of this meeting is unmistakably reflected in the growing number of participants, almost reaching 150.

The participants were coming from all over the world, with origins spanning 22 different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, UK, and USA. The mixture of young and established scientists, including a great percentage of students, made this meeting a hot spot of lively discussions on a wide range of scientific subjects, not only during the meeting itself, but also at several occasions throughout many social events offered by the hospitality of the city of Hasselt.

This meeting would not have been possible without the help and support of many people and organisations. For financial aid we are especially indebted to the Scientific Research Community “Surface Modification of Materials ” of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), whose continual support plays an important role in keeping this meeting going. We also thank the Hasselt University through the Institute for Materials Research (IMO) and Division IMOMEC for administrative support, Seki Technotron Corp. & sp3 Diamond Technologies for sponsoring the poster reception, and Element Six Ltd. for sponsoring the opening reception. Both companies were present with a table top exhibit. Finally we would like to thank the editorial staff of physica status solidi for their constant support during the last 10 years. Through the excellent help and patient work of Sabine Bahrs and Julia Hübner, we are looking forward to adding another successful SBDD proceedings volume next year.

To finish, we would all like to invite you to the 14th edition of the SBDD series. The meeting will again be held at the modern and excellent facilities of the cultuurcentrum Hasselt, this time in the beginning of March.

CU all at SBDD XIV in 2009!

Hasselt Diamond Workshop 2009 – SBDD XIV

March 2 – 4, 2009

cultuurcentrum Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium

http://www.imo.uhasselt.be/SBDD2009

Hasselt, August 11, 2008. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)