The ICFSI series was initiated in 1985 in Marseille, France by iniciative of Prof. Guy le Lay who was the chairman of ICFSI-1; subsequently ICFSI-2 was held in Takarazuka, Japan in 1988 (Chaired by Prof. Akio Hiraki) and ICFSI-3 in Rome, Italy in 1991 (Chaired by Dr.Paolo Perfetti).

Next, ICFSI-4 was held in Jülich, Germany in 1993 (Co-chairs: Prof. H. Lüth and W. Mönch), and ICFSI-5 was held in Princenton, NJ, USA in 1995 (Co-chaired by Prof. Antoine Kahn and Dr. Rudy Ludeke). ICFSI-6 happened in Cardiff, Wales, UK, in 1997 and was chaired by Prof. Robin Williams; ICFSI-7 was held in Göteborg, Sweden in 1999 (Chaired by Prof. Per Olof Nilsson);

Then ICFSI-8 was held in Sapporo, Japan in 2001, and it was chaired by Prof. Hideki Hasegawa, at Hokkaido University. ICFSI-9 was held in Madrid, Spain in 2003 and chaired by Prof. Fernando Flores. Finally, ICFSI-10, for its 20th anniversary in the series was co-chaired and organized by Profs. Patrick Soukiassian and Guy le Lay in Aix en Provence, France.

The year 2007 will mark the ICFSI-11 which by the first time will take place in a country in the southern hemisphere (Brazil) and will be chaired by Profs. Eronides F. da Silva Jr (Univ. Federal de Pernambuco, in Recife, Brazil) and Antonio Ferreira da Silva (Universidade Federal da Bahia, in Salvador, Brazil). ICFSI-11 will take place in the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil in the heart of the Amazon rain forest and famosoud for the biodiversity, local culture, crafts, native Indians, fish, and much more.

With the growth in importance of semiconductor interfaces and its applications, in this edition, the ICFSI conference will expand its scope through the sub-title `From Semiconductor Surfaces and Interfaces thru Nanobiotechnology Applications' reflecting the enormous advances of semiconductors and interfaces in developing applications in the biological, environmental and medical fields.