E-MRS symposium O: “Synthesis, processing and characterization of nanoscale multifunctional oxide films — IV” May 27–31, 2013, Strasbourg, France

The 30th anniversary of the 2013 European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) Spring Meeting included 24 parallel symposia, one plenary session, and an exhibition,with over 3300 participants. Following three previous successful symposia (2006, 2009, and 2011), the symposium “Synthesis, processing and characterization of nanoscale multifunctional oxide films— IV” continued the tradition of an interdisciplinary forum bringing together scientists and engineers involved in various aspects of the synthesis and growth, characterization, device integration and theoretical modeling of oxide thin films, multilayers and nanostructures. Development of oxide-based advanced multifunctional thin films and heterostructures are key factors for the design of newdevices contributing to the advancement of science and technology. Notable this year was the number of excellent presentations dedicated to precise control of the growth, synthesis and characterization of a broad variety of oxide thin films, which exhibit unique structural, optical, electrical, magnetic or mechanical properties, for both fundamental and applied research goals. Of particular notewas the variety of deposition methods presented and discussed, with an increasing interest in chemically-based fabrication techniques. Among the presented talks, highlights featured multiferroics, ferroelectrics and magnetic oxides, nano-scale oxides, solar energy materials and devices, and multifunctional 3D nanostructures, fabricated using awide range of both physical and chemical synthesismethods. Reflecting the wide use of pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD) for the growth of oxide thin films and nanostructures, a joint session “Laser assisted deposition of functional oxides” (2nd edition) was organized together with Symposium V “Laser materials interactions for micro and nano applications”. This joint session, chaired by M. Guilloux-Viry and R. Eason, attracted over 100 attendees on the afternoon of 28th May. Following the tradition of the previous meetings of this series, the symposiumProceedings are published in collaboration with the journal Thin Solid Films, using a procedure strictly identical to that adopted for manuscripts submitted as regular papers. As Guest Editors, we would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to all authors and referees for their efficient work and valuable efforts. We would also like to acknowledge the E-MRS Headquarters for their support of the organization of the meeting, especially Mrs. Catherine Kocher and Mr. Sylvain Schoeffter for their valuable help, as well as Dr. Marie-France Pepin, Senior Editorial Assistant for the Thin Solid Films journal for efficient coordination of the editorial work (and for joining us in the first all-women organising team!). Special thanks are dedicated to Invited Speakers,Members of the Scientific Committee, and to all the participants,who ensured the high scientific quality of the Symposium, high attendance and stimulating discussions, despite the rainiest and coldestweek ever recorded in Strasbourg during the Spring Meeting.