APPLICATIONS OF SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPIES IN TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING

Within the last 10 years the scanning probe microscopies (SPMs) have b een applied to a variety of problems with the main emphasis on scienti fic applications. The SPM techniques have to date also found their tec hnical applications. The simple concept can easily be adapted to a var iety of different applications in high technologic manufacturing proce sses. The scanning tunneling microscope is now considered as a standar d measuring equipment, in the meantime there exists a whole family of SPMs with promising applications in not only a pure scientific environ ment but also in a manufacturing environment. As examples for industri al applications, we report on magnetic force microscopic investigation s, on magnetic storage device components, and on a relatively new tech nique for nanohardness investigations of thin-films by an atomic force microscope.