Parallel scanning probe arrays: their applications

Since the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM)1 and the atomic force microscope (AFM)2, the field of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) instruments has grown steadily and has had a profound influence in materials research, chemistry, biology, nanotechnology, and electronics3,4. Today, scanning probe instruments are used for metrology, characterization5, detection6, manipulation7, patterning8,9, and material modification. A wide range of scanning probe applications are available, taking advantage of various modes of tip–substrate interactions, including force, optics10,11, electrochemistry12, electromagnetics, electrostatics, thermal and mass transfer13,14, and vibration15,16.