Three closely related techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-
ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, have
become widely accepted as important tools for the study of the chemic
al composition and electronic properties of surfaces, overlayers, and
interfaces. There is now a major effort to push these spectroscopic te
chniques into a new realm of applications with very high spatial resol
ution, at and below 1 mu m. This results in a new set of probes which
can create images of chemical composition with great subtlety. The fie
ld is growing rapidly as high brightness sources of X-rays become avai
lable. The goals and methods used in electron spectromicroscopy and re
lated X-ray microscopies are discussed, and recent applications of ins
truments developed in the last few years are used to illustrate the st
rengths of these new microscopes.