Scanning tunneling microscopy has achieved remarkable progress and become the key technology for surface science. This book predicts the future development for all of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Such forecasts may help to determine the course ultimately taken and may accelerate research and development on nanotechnology and nanoscience, as well as all in SPM-related fields in the future.

Written by three leading experts in the field, this textbook describes and explains all aspects of the scanning probe microscopy. Emphasis is placed on the experimental design and procedures required to optimize the performance of the various methods. Scanning Probe Microscopy covers not only the physical principles behind scanning probe microscopy but also questions of instrumental designs, basic features of the different imaging modes, and recurring artifacts. The intention is to provide a general textbook for all types of classes that address scanning probe microscopy. Third year undergraduates and beyond should be able to use it for self-study or as textbook to accompany a course on probe microscopy. Furthermore, it will be valuable as reference book in any scanning probe microscopy laboratory. Novel applications and the latest important results are also presented, and the book closes with a look at the future prospects of scanning probe microscopy, also discussing related techniques in nanoscience. Ideally suited as an introduction for graduate students, the book will also serve as a valuable reference for practising researchers developing and using scanning probe techniques.

The goal of this book is to provide a general overview of the rapidly developing field of novel scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques for characterization of a wide range of functional materials, including complex oxides, biopolymers, and semiconductors. Many recent advances in condensed matter physics and materials science, including transport mechanisms in carbon nanostructures and the role of disorder on high temperature superconductivity, would have been impossible without SPM. The unique aspect of SPM is its potential for imaging functional properties of materials as opposed to structural characterization by electron microscopy. Examples include electrical transport and magnetic, optical, and electromechanical properties. By bringing together critical reviews by leading researchers on the application of SPM to to the nanoscale characterization of functional materials properties, this book provides insight into fundamental and technological advances and future trends in key areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

This book explains the operating principles of atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. The aim of this book is to enable the reader to operate a scanning probe microscope successfully and understand the data obtained with the microscope. The chapters on the scanning probe techniques are complemented by the chapters on fundamentals and important technical aspects. This textbook is primarily aimed at graduate students from physics, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience and engineering, as well as researchers new to the field.

The volumes VIII, IX and X examine the physical and technical foundation for recent progress in applied scanning probe techniques. This is the first book to summarize the state-of-the-art of this technique. The field is progressing so fast that there is a need for a set of volumes every 12 to 18 months to capture latest developments. These volumes constitute a timely and comprehensive overview of SPM applications.

Scanning Probe Microscopy provides a comprehensive source of information for researchers, teachers, and graduate students about the rapidly expanding field of scanning probe theory. Written in the style of a textbook, it explains from scratch the theory behind today’s simulation techniques and gives examples of theoretical concepts through state-of-the-art simulations, including the means to compare these results with experimental data. The book provides the first comprehensive framework for electron transport theory with its various degrees of approximations used in today’s research, thus allowing extensive insight into the physics of scanning probes. Experimentalists will appreciate how the instrument's operation is changed by materials properties; theorists will understand how simulations can be directly compared to experimental data.

The volumes XI, XII and XIII examine the physical and technical foundation for recent progress in applied scanning probe techniques. The first volume came out in January 2004, the second to fourth volumes in early 2006 and the fifth to seventh volumes in late 2006. The field is progressing so fast that there is a need for a set of volumes every 12 to 18 months to capture latest developments. These volumes constitute a timely comprehensive overview of SPM applications. After introducing scanning probe microscopy, including sensor technology and tip characterization, chapters on use in various industrial applications are presented. Industrial applications span topographic and dynamical surface studies of thin-film semiconductors, polymers, paper, ceramics, and magnetic and biological materials. The chapters have been written by leading researchers and application scientists from all over the world and from various industries to provide a broader perspective.