Silicon Carbide (SiC), Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Diamond are examples of wide-bandgap semiconductors having chemical, electrical and optical properties which make them very attractive for the fabrication of high-power and high-frequency electronic devices, as well as of light-emitters and sensors which have to operate under harsh conditions. The book comprises the proceedings of the 5th edition of the European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, held from the 31st August to the 4th September 2004 in Bologna, Italy. This conference series here continued its tradition of being the main European forum for exchanging results, and discussing progress, between those university and industry researchers who are most active in the fields of SiC and related materials. Attendees at the conference highlighted the progress made in material growth technology, characterization of material properties and technological processing for electronic applications. Many electronics devices were presented: including high-voltage, high power-density and high-temperature components; as well as microwave components. Radiation-hard sensors were also presented.These proceedings fully document the latest experimental and theoretical understanding of the growth of bulk and epitaxial layers, the properties of the resultant materials, the development of suitable processes and of electronic devices that can best exploit and benefit from the outstanding physical properties that are offered by wide-bandgap materials.