Diffraction can occur when electromagnetic radiation interacts with a periodic structure whose repeat distance is about the same as the wavelength of the radiation. Visible light, for example, can be diffracted by a grating that contains scribed lines spaced only a few thousand angstroms apart, about the wavelength of visible light. X-rays have wavelengths on the order of angstroms, in the rang...

Recent efforts to achieve global standardization of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) including noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM), especially through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and related research, are surveyed. Since the unification of terminology for SPM is a prerequisite for standardization, it should have the first priority, followed by the unification...

A near-field room temperature scanning magnetic probe microscope has been developed using a laminated magnetoelectric sensor. The simple trilayer longitudinal-transverse mode sensor, fabricated using Metglas as the magnetostrictive layer and polyvinylidene fluoride as the piezoelectric layer, shows an ac field sensitivity of 467+/-3 microV/Oe in the measured frequency range of 200 Hz-8 kHz. The...

Direct investigation of, and interaction with, biological objects at the macromolecular level will provide insight into multiple physical regulatory processes. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques have the potential to provide a direct interaction with living specimens at the macromolecular scale. In the present research we will discuss the site-specific recognition techniques that are ap...

Reproducible scanning tunneling microscope and atomic force microscope images of entire molecules of uncoated plasmid DNA chemically bound to surfaces are presented. The chemically mediated immobilization of DNA to surfaces and subsequent scanning tunneling microscope imaging of DNA molecules demonstrate that the problem of molecular instability to forces exerted by the probe tip, inherent with...

Significant progress has been made in the theoretical modelling of scanning probe microscopy. The models available now are sufficiently refined to provide information not only about the surface, but also the probe tip, and the physical changes occurring during the scanning process. This has significantly improved the quantitative analysis of experimental and theoretical results. Scanning probe ...

Scanning probe microscopy methods allow the investigation of a variety of sample surface properties on a nanometer scale, even down to single molecules. As molecular electronics advance, the characterization of electrical properties becomes more and more important. In both research and industry, films made from composite materials and lithographically structured elements have already reached st...