Scanning probe microscopies for analytical studies at the nanometer scale

Abstract

The scanning probe microscopies (SPM) have transformed the way of studying the structure and the properties of a wide variety of systems. Without doubt, they have exerted a pivotal role in many scientific disciplines like physics, chemistry, biology and engineering and have helped to give birth to novel fields such as the nanoscience and nanotechnology. This review attempts to highlight the versatility and high sensitivity of these techniques for capturing analytical information at the nanometer scale. In this context we will provide a survey of scanning probe evolution from the capabilities to image topography, atomic/molecular structure and in-situ dynamic processes to the mapping or local probing of physical and chemical properties. A selection of illustrative SPM studies is presented covering several areas of science.