Book excerpt: Defects play an important role in determining the properties of solids. This book provides an introduction to chemical bond, phonons, and thermodynamics; treatment of point defect formation and reaction, equilibria, mechanisms, and kinetics; kinetics chapters on solid state processes; and electrochemical techniques and applications. * Offers a coherent description of fundamental defect chemistry and the most common applications. * Up-to-date trends and developments within this field. * Combines electrochemical concepts with aspects of semiconductor physics.