1. Purpose
The Semiconducting Silicides and Related Materials Division of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (referred to as simply the Division below) has the objective of promoting the investigation of the synthesis of silicide semiconductors and their related materials in orbitals of the silicide bond, the basic and applied physics of those materials, and their application to photo-electric devices through various activities.
The first term (2001 to 2003) has ended and in the second period that began in January, 2004, we have been strengthening the expansion of activities to applied technology.

2. Background and need
Semiconducting silicides are transition metal silicide semiconductors, typified by the iron silicides, and alkali earth metal silicide semiconductors such as Ca2Si and Mg2Si. Their related materials are a new group of semiconducting materials that have complex structures, such as the silicon clathrates.
These semiconducting materials have a different bond orbital from the conventional tetrahedral structure semiconductors, whose bond orbital is sp3. Because of that difference, this group of materials promises electrical, optical, and magnetic characteristics that originate in a variety of bonds. For example, β- FeSi2, for which research has advanced though most, is a semiconductor that has a direct band gap in the 1.54 um optical communication wavelength band and good lattice matching with silicon. In Japan, LEDs and photodiodes that can emit light at room temperature by means of a heterojunction with silicon that takes advantage of these features have already been tested. The transition metal silicide semiconductors have the d bond orbital, and thus are expected to develop as magnetic semiconductors.
From a global perspective, too, the contribution of the members of the Society of Applied Physics to the advancement of research on semiconducting silicides from basic to applied in the last five years is unmistakable. That Society members in Japan and abroad have been at the center of research achievements has been verified by the three symposiums (45th, 46th and 47th) held at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Applied Physics and the Japan-UK Joint Workshop on Kankyo-Semiconductors (top photo) (supported by the Society of Applied Physics and sponsored jointly by the Materials Science and Crystal Technology Division and the Solid State Physics and Applications Division), the compiling of Thin Solid Films 381 and the Special Issue, as well as the sharp increase in related presentations at “Semiconductor B Exploratory Materials”. We believe that, propelled by this favorable situation, the inauguration of the Division by the Japan Society of Applied Physics is very important for strengthening the research organization for semiconducting silicides and related materials with a view to the future and also in the sense of creating a core for promoting research globally.