The scanning probe microscopy field has been rapidly expanding. It is a demanding
task to collect a timely overview of this field with an emphasis on technical developments
and industrial applications. It became evident while editing Vols. I–IV that
a large number of technical and applicational aspects are present and rapidly developing
worldwide. Considering the success of Vols. I–IV and the fact that further
colleagues from leading laboratories were ready to contribute their latest achievements,
we decided to expand the series with articles touching fields not covered in
the previous volumes. The response and support of our colleagues were excellent,
making it possible to edit another three volumes of the series. In contrast to topical
conference proceedings, the applied scanning probe methods intend to give an
overview of recent developments as a compendium for both practical applications
and recent basic research results, and novel technical developments with respect to
instrumentation and probes