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I. Gebeshuber, M. Drack, F. Aumayr, Hp. Winter, F. Franek:
"Scanning Probe Microscopy: From living cells to the subatomic range";
in: "Applied Scanning Probe Methods III: Characterization (NanoScience and Technology)", B. Bhushan (ed.); Springer-Verlag, 2006, (invited), ISBN: 3-540-26909-6, 27 - 53.

In this chapter the reader will be introduced to scanning probe microscopy
of samples varying by seven orders of magnitude in size (Fig. 1). The
largest samples presented are living cells, measuring some hundreds of
micrometers. Small units of life, biomolecules with only some tens of
nanometers, are the next sample. They are investigated interacting with
each other in real-time. One more step down in size, small ion induced
defects on atomically flat crystals represent structures in the nanometer
regime. New data storage devices might result from such investigations.
Finally, single electron spin detection (dozens of atomic layers beneath
the surface) and the imaging of atom orbitals extend scanning probe
microscopy to the subatomic regime. 3D atomic-level information of
(bio)molecules embedded in their natural environment or single defect
imaging in bulk silicon might be possible with these new techniques within
the near future.
These versatile applications demand methods such as scanning tunneling
microscopy at ultra-low temperatures (1.6 K) or atomic force microscopy in
ultra-high vacuum (10-11 mbar). Furthermore, in many cases, specially
engineered and/or functionalized scanning probe tips are needed.

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