Guide for Authors - Content list:

Short Overview

Manuscript Preparation:
General
Structure
Text Layout
Corresponding Author
Abstract
Units
References
Illustrations
Free Colour
Tables
Supplying final accepted text

Other:
Notification
Copyright
Open Access
PDF Proofs
Author Benefits
Online paper tracking
Enquiries
Useful Links

Short Overview

Submission of papers:

By Mail: Authors wishing to publish papers within the Editorial scope are encouraged to submit for review an abstract and a 1-2 page detailed outline of the proposed work, together with an estimate of the manuscript length via email to one of the Editors.

Manuscripts accompanied by a covering letter should be sent electronically.

Submission address:

Three copies of the manuscript and figures should be sent to one of the Editors.

Dr. Eduard Artz
Scientific Director
INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Campus D2 2
66123 Saarbruecken
Germany
Tel: +49 681 9300 500
Fax: +49 681 9300 503
Progress@inm-gmbh.de

Professor S. Suresh
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge
MA 02139
UK
Tel: +01 (0)617-253-3320
E-mail: ssuresh@mit.edu

Professor B. Cantor, Vice Chancellor
University of York
Heslington
York
YO10 5DD
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1904 432 001
Fax: +44 (0) 1904 432 003
vc@york.ac.uk

Professor T.B. Massalski
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Doherty Hall A308
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
USA
Tel: +1 412 268 2708
Fax: +1 412 268 7169
E-mail (sec):gosia@andrew.cmu.edu

Professor Tetsuo Mohri
Division of Materials Science and Engineering
Graduate School of Engineering
Hokkaido University
Kita-13 Nishi-8, Kita-ku
Sapporo 060-8628
Japan
Tel: +81 (11) 706-6348
Fax: +81 (11) 706-7812
tmohri@eng.hokudai.ac.jp

Submission Language: English

English Language: Manuscripts should be proof-read and have English language errors corrected before submission as we may have to return papers due to poor language usage. Elsevier has negotiated with five different language editing companies to provide their services to our authors at favourable rates. You will find a listing of these companies which provide pre-submission language editing on http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/languageediting/.

Types of contributions: Review Articles

Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper for style if possible.

Original material: Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Editor's requirements:
On the first page authors are requested to state: number of manuscript folios; number of figures; number of tables; a short running title; the name and full mailing address of the corresponding author.

The Editors reserve the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity.

Authors should retain a copy of their manuscript since we cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss of papers.

Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and artwork instructions can be found below. The editor reserves the right to return manuscripts that do not conform to the instructions for manuscript preparation and artwork instruction, as well as paper that do not fit the scope of the journal, prior to refereeing.

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Manuscript Preparation:

General:
Editors reserve the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. Original manuscripts are discarded one month after publication unless the Publisher is asked to return original material after use. An electronic copy of the manuscript on disk should accompany the final accepted version. Please use Word or Word Perfect files for the text of your manuscript.
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Structure:
Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Vitae, Figure Captions and then Tables. For submission in hardcopy, do not import figures into the text - see Illustrations. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.
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Text Layout:
Use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal to become familiar with layout and conventions. Number all pages consecutively, use 12 or 10 pt font size and standard fonts. If submitting in hardcopy, print the entire manuscript on one side of the paper only.
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Corresponding author:
Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper for style if possible.
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Abstract:
A self-contained abstract outlining in a single paragraph the aims, scope and conclusions of the paper must be supplied.
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Units:
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
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References:
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript.

Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.

List: Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
[1] Van der Geer J, Hanraads JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun 2000;163:51-9.
Reference to a book:
[2] Strunk Jr W, White EB. The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan; 1979.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
[3] Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction to the electronic age, New York: E-Publishing Inc; 1999, p. 281-304

Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and that for more than 6 authors the first 6 should be listed followed by 'et al.'
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Free Colour
As a token of appreciation for your contribution to the journal, Elsevier is pleased to offer free reproduction of your colour of your images in print.
If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures, then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) and in the printed version. Further information concerning colour illustrations and costs is available from Author Support at authorsupport@elsevier.ie, and at http://elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
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Tables:
Tables should be numbered consecutively and given suitable caption and each table is laid out on a new page. No vertical rules should be used. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere in the manuscript (for example, in graphs). Footnotes to tables should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript lowercase letters.
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Supplying final accepted text:
Once the paper has been accepted by the editor, an electronic version of the text should be submitted to Elsevier production at pms@elsevier.com with a copy to the Editor.
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word or WordPerfect is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety.
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Notification:

Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their paper by the editor. The Publisher will also send a notification of receipt of the paper in production.
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Copyright:

All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement enables Elsevier to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the authors' proprietory rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright from the holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists.Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by Authors in these cases, available online.
For more information please go to our copyright page http://elsevier.com/locate/authorrights.
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Open Access

This journal offers you the option of making your article freely available to all via the ScienceDirect platform. To prevent any conflict of interest, you can only make this choice after receiving notification that your article has been accepted for publication. The fee of $3,000 excludes taxes and other potential author fees such as color charges. In some cases, institutions and funding bodies have entered into agreement with Elsevier to meet these fees on behalf of their authors. Details of these agreements are available at http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies. Authors of accepted articles, who wish to take advantage of this option, should complete and submit the order form (available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/openaccessform.pdf). Whatever access option you choose, you retain many rights as an author, including the right to post a revised personal version of your article on your own website. More information can be found here: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.

PDF Proofs:

One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. The corrections should be returned within 48 hours. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely the author's responsibility. Any queries should be answered in full. Please only correct factual errors, or errors introduced by typesetting.
For more information on proofreading please go to our proofreading page http://elsevier.com/locate/authorrights.Please note that once your paper has been proofed we publish the identical paper online as in print.
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Author Benefits:

No page charges: Publications in this journal is free of charge.

Offprints: The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.

Author Discount: Contributors to Elsevier journals are entitled to a 30% discount on all Elsevier books. See http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/booksbutler for more information.

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Online Paper Tracking:

Authors can track the status of their accepted paper online at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle using the reference supplied by the Publisher.

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Author enquiries:

All author enquiries should be made to: authorsupport@elsevier.ie

Useful links: •Register free to personalise Author Gateway features, by creating a profile•Submission Checklist can be downloaded•Track a paper•Email alerts can be set up here, by creating a profileIf you are interested in submitting a book in this area, see • http://www.elsevier.com/bookauthors