The rapidly increasing activities in nanoscience and nanotechnology supported by
sizable national programs has led to a variety of efforts in the development and
understanding of scanning probe techniques as well as their applications to industrial
and medical environments. Beyond imaging, scanning probe techniques representing
the eyes of nanotechnology allows us to investigate surfaces and interfaces close
to surfaces at the nanometer scale and below, thus providing information about
structure, mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties. It became apparent during
the collection phase of Vol. I in 2003 that many more activities exist which deserve
presentation. Therefore, this three volume set was prepared in order to display the
wide breadth of this field and also to provide an excellent compendium for recent
developments in this area. The response of colleagues and research groups being
asked to contribute has been very positive, such that we decided, together with the
publisher, to rapidly move on in these areas. It became possible to collect excellent
contributions displaying first hand information from leading laboratories worldwide.
The present volumes II–IV cover three main areas: scanning probe microscopy
(SPM) techniques (Vol. II); characterization (basic aspects, research, Vol. III); and
industrial applications (Vol. IV).