Microwave studies of chaotic billiards and disordered systems

A review is given on our recent microwave results in chaotic systems with s pecial emphasis on examples having a direct relevance for real mesoscopic s ystems. We present tests of predictions by Simons and Altshuler on velocity distributions of different types of spectral level dynamics, studies of tr ansmission fluctuations through open billiards, and of the localization-del ocalization transition of wave functions in disordered systems. The review ends with a presentation of chaotic field distributions in three-dimensiona l billiards. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.