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Quasi-2D GaN layers inserted in an AlGaN matrix are proposed as a novel active region to develop a high-output-power UV light source. Such a structure is successfully achieved by precise control in molecular beam epitaxy and shows an amazing output power of ≈160 mW at 285 nm with a pulsed electron-beam excitation. This device is promising and competitive in non-line-of-sight communications or the sterilization field.

The 14th International Conference on II–VI Compounds was held in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, on 23–28 August 2009. The meeting continued a series of biennial conferences, which was started in Durham, UK, in 1983. The preceding conference was held on Jeju Island, Korea, in 2007. The 14th conference was organized by the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The attendance of the conference was most world-wide as compared with 2005 and 2007, although the number of participants was less than in 2007. The conference brought together 257 scientists from 26 countries, with Germany and Russia sharing a leadership in numbers. Seventy of them were young scientists. From 252 abstracts submitted, the Program Committee selected 237 for presentation, including 59 oral papers. In addition, 24 invited papers were proposed. All the invited and oral papers were presented, and 178 posters were displayed during three poster sessions. Besides, a special Session of Review Lectures was organized at the beginning with participation of most prominent scientists in the field: Le Si Dang (Institut Neel CNRS, France), Alexey Ekimov (Nanocrystal Technology Co., USA), Jacek Furdyna (University of Notre Dame, USA), Claus Klingshirn (University of Karlsruhe, Germany). The present proceedings volume of physica status solidi includes 124 papers from the conference accepted for publication. The conference program reflects a revival of interest in the recent years to this group of materials due to the emergence of many fascinating ideas and prospects as well as the development of new technologies. In particular, the wide bandgap semiconductors like ZnO, (Zn,Cd)Te, (Zn,Cd)Se provide unique opportunities to exploit the ideas of photonic band engineering in specially designed quantum nanostructures. This intense activity has yet resulted in the observation of numerous original effects and emergence of new device concepts, including Bose condensation of exciton–polaritons (“polariton laser”), triggered single-photon sources for quantum cryptography, optical switches and memories. Important areas that take advantage of the specific properties of II–VI compounds are quantum information processing and spintronics. Among other prospective practical applications of the II–VI compounds presented at the conference are yellow-to-blue lasers, infrared detectors, terahertz emitters, inter-subband electroluminescence devices, and nanoscale sensors. During the conference, the Complimentary Session was held to mark the 80th birthday of Prof. Gottfried Landwehr, outstanding German physicist and Honorary Chair of the Conference, who initiated fundamental research on semiconductors in high magnetic fields, and later contributed a lot to the development of physics and technology of II–VI compounds world-wide. The Editors would like to thank all the members of the International Advisory Committee and the International Program Committee for their encouragement and great help during the conference organization. We are grateful to the referees for their effort and time devoted to the paper review process. We appreciate very much the managers and technical staff of the Hotel “Saint-Petersburg” as well as the young researchers and Ph.D. students from the Ioffe Institute for their assistance before and during the conference. We owe our best thanks to the sponsors of the conference listed on the following pages for their substantial support. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Stefan Hildebrandt, Managing Editor of physica status solidi, for his friendly assistance, understanding and patience in the editorial process. The next International Conference on II–VI Compounds will be held in September 2011 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. We wish the organizers a gorgeous and successful meeting (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)