This book presents the physical and technical foundation of the state of the art in applied scanning probe techniques. It constitutes a timely and comprehensive overview of SPM applications. The chapters in this volume relate to scanning probe microscopy techniques, characterization of various materials and structures and typical industrial applications, including topographic and dynamical surface studies of thin-film semiconductors, polymers, paper, ceramics, and magnetic and biological materials. The chapters are written by leading researchers and application scientists from all over the world and from various industries to provide a broader perspective.

Part 1: Scanning probe microscopy techniques- Spectroscopic techniques in SPM- High speed AFM imaging.- New developments in imaging of biological samples.- New developments in AFM.- SNOM.- Part 2: Nanocharacterization.- Antibodies for protein recognition.- In-situ imaging of living cells.- In-situ crystallization of wax materials.- Part 3: Biomimetics and industrial applications.- Electrowetting and switchable hydrophobicity.- Renewable energy applications.- AFMs in hard disk industry.

Bharat Bhushan is Ohio Eminent Scholar and The Howard D. Winbigler Professor at the College of Engineering, and Director of the Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- & Nanotechnology and Biomimetics (NLB2) at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. He authored 6 scientific books, more than 90 handbook chapters, more than 700 scientific papers (h factor - 42+), and more than 60 scientific reports, edited more than 45 books, and holds 17 U.S. and foreign patents. Bharat Bhusan received numerous prestigious awards and international fellowships including the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize for Senior Scientists, Max Planck Foundation Research Award for Outstanding Foreign Scientists, and the Fulbright Senior Scholar Award. He worked for various research labs including IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA.