Materials Letters is a fast publication journal on the science and technology of materials. The journal provides a rapid communication forum for scientists and engineers engaged in the field of ceramics, polymers, metals and alloys, composites and novel materials. The rapid publication of advances in these fields contributes to their further development and stimulates cross-fertilization and interdisciplinary studies.Contributions include, but are not restricted to, a variety of topics such as: Materials - crystalline and amorphous, synthetic superlattices and composites; Novel materials - microstructures, nanostructures, thin films and fullerenes; Characterisation - analytical, microscopic, acoustic, optical, spectroscopic and diffractive; Properties - mechanical, magnetic, optical, electrical, interfacial, phase transformational and transport; Applications - structural, opto-electronic, magnetic, smart materials, ferroelectrics, nove, semiconductors, environmental materials; Processing - crystal growth, beam processing, sol-gel processing and deformation processing; Synthesis - high pressure, powder preparation, explosive forming, rapid quenching, extrusion and milling.