Among various applications, solar cells for photovoltaic solar energy and thin-film transistors for flat-panel display have been the two major driving forces for research and development of thin-film silicon materials and devices. In the last few years, the thin-film silicon community has mainly focused on thin-film silicon solar cells to address the issues of efficiency, manufacturing capability and manufacturing cost. This volume includes sixty-eight papers presented at Symposium A, 'Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology - 2011', which took place April 25-29, during the 2011 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California. The symposium covered the science and technology of thin-film silicon-based materials, reviewed recent progress, addressed the scientific and technical issues in the field and, this year, focused sessions were held on the topic of solar cell efficiency.

Among various applications, solar cells for photovoltaic solar energy and thin-film transistors for flat-panel display have been the two major driving forces for research and development of thin-film silicon materials and devices. In the last few years, the thin-film silicon community has mainly focused on thin-film silicon solar cells to address the issues of efficiency, manufacturing capability and manufacturing cost. This volume includes sixty-eight papers presented at Symposium A, 'Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology - 2011', which took place April 25-29, during the 2011 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California. The symposium covered the science and technology of thin-film silicon-based materials, reviewed recent progress, addressed the scientific and technical issues in the field and, this year, focused sessions were held on the topic of solar cell efficiency.

Among various applications, solar cells for photovoltaic solar energy and thin-film transistors for flat-panel display have been the two major driving forces for research and development of thin-film silicon materials and devices. In the last few years, the thin-film silicon community has mainly focused on thin-film silicon solar cells to address the issues of efficiency, manufacturing capability and manufacturing cost. This volume includes sixty-eight papers presented at Symposium A, 'Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology - 2011', which took place April 25-29, during the 2011 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California. The symposium covered the science and technology of thin-film silicon-based materials, reviewed recent progress, addressed the scientific and technical issues in the field and, this year, focused sessions were held on the topic of solar cell efficiency.