APPLICATIONS OF SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPIES IN TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING

Within the last 10 years the scanning probe microscopies (SPMs) have been applied to a variety of problems with the main emphasis on scientific applications. The SPM techniques have to date also found their technical applications. The simple concept can easily be adapted to a variety of different applications in high technologic manufacturing processes. The scanning tunneling microscope is now considered as a standard measuring equipment, in the meantime there exists a whole family of SPMs with promising applications in not only a pure scientific environment but also in a manufacturing environment. As examples for industrial applications, we report on magnetic force microscopic investigations, on magnetic storage device components, and on a relatively new technique for nanohardness investigations of thin-films by an atomic force microscope.