Since the invention of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) [1] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [2], a new class of local probe microscopes has entered the laboratories around the world. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) uses probing tips to map properties, such as topography, local adhesive forces, elasticity, friction or magnetic properties. In the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanotechn...

The scanning probe microscopy setups are small, lightweight and do not require vacuum or high voltage supply. In addition, samples can be investigated directly without further preparation. Therefore, these techniques are well-suited for applications in space, in particular, for operation on the International Space Station (ISS) or for high resolution microscopy on planetary missions. A feasibil...

Sensor devices including biosensors are attracting considerable interest for molecule-speciŽ c measurements with high sensitivity in a variety of applications ranging from clinical and pharmaceutical analysis to industrial process monitoring and environmental surveillance applications. A biosensor is composed of two main components: (i) a sensing interface, which speciŽ cally interacts with ana...

Recent advances in the past thirty years have brought nanotechnology into the mainstream, allowing scientists and engineers to develop theory and products at atomic scale. One major breakthrough was the invention of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), a technique that allows nanoscopic objects to be viewed at macroscale. However, this technology was primarily developed for the visual senses, negle...

A multipurpose room temperature scanning Hall probe microscope (RT-SHPM) system incorporating an ultra-high sensitive sub-micron GaAs Hall probe (active area of 0.8 0.8mm; room temperature Hall coefficient of 0.3O/G) exhibiting extremely high magnetic field sensitivity (0.04G/ p Hz) was used for the direct, non-invasive and quantitative imaging of magnetic field fluctuations in very close proxi...