Measurement in the nanoworld

Abstract

Scientific discovery and technological developments are forging ahead at an ever-faster pace. There are clear trends for scientific endeavour to lead to products that are becoming increasingly miniaturized, multi-functional, diverse and more intelligent. And, whilst there are evolutionary advances in virtually every field of technology, especially in nanotechnology, new and often unexpected scientific discoveries are being made at the boundaries between traditional disciplines. Within this exceptionally complex, and dynamic, landscape there is a crucial requirement to be able to measure what is happening in order to control, develop and understand new processes, phenomena and material properties.