Scanning probe Microscopy in materials science

This brief article introduces the July 2004 issue of MRS Bulletin, focusing on Scanning Probe Microscopy in Materials Science. Those application areas of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) in which the most impact has been made in recent years are covered in the articles in this theme. They include polymers and semiconductors, where scanning force microscopy is now virtually a standard characterization method; magnetism, where magnetic force microscopy has served both as a routine analytical approach and a method for fundamental studies; tribology, where friction force microscopy has opened entirely new vistas of investigation; biological materials, where atomic force microscopy in an aqueous environment allows biosystems to be imaged and measured in a native (or near-native) state; and nanostructured materials, where SPM has often been the only approach capable of elucidating nanostructures.