This volume contains the proceedings of the conference on "Atomic and Nanometer Scale Modification of Materials: Fundamentals and Applications" which was co-sponsored by NATO and the Engineering Foundation, and took place in Ventura, California in August 1992. The goal of the organizers was to bring together and facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between researchers involved in the development of techniques for nanometer-scale modification and manipulation. theorists investigating the fundamental mech anisms of the processes involved in modification, and scientists studying the properties and applications of nanostructures. About seventy scientists from all over the world participated in the conference. It has been more than 30 years since Richard Feynman wrote his prophetic article: ''There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom" (Science and Engineering, 23, 22, 1960). In it he predicted that some day we should be able to store bits of information in structures composed of only 100 atoms or so, and thus be able to write all the information accumulated in all the books in the world in a cube of material one two-hundredths of an inch high. He went on to say, "the prin ciples of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. " Since that time there has been significant progress towards the realization of Feynman's dreams.

Optics at the Nanometer Scale: Imaging and Storing with Photonic Near Fields deals with the fundamentals of and the latest developments and applications of near-field optical microscopy, giving basic accounts of how and under what circumstances superresolution beyond the half- wavelength Rayleigh limit is achieved. Interferometric and fluorescence techniques are also described, leading to molecular and even atomic resolution using light. The storage of optical information at this level of resolution is also addressed.

An assessment of the recent achievements and relative strengths of two developing techniques for characterising surfaces at the nanometer scale: (i) local probe methods, including scanning tunnelling microscopy and its derivatives; and (ii) nanoscale photoemission and absorption spectroscopy for chemical analysis. The keynote lectures were delivered by some of the world's best scientists in the field and some of the topics covered include: (1) The possible application of STM in atomically resolved chemical analysis. (2) The principles of scanning force/friction and scanning near-field optical microscopes. (3) The scanning photoemission electron microscopes built at ELETTRA and SRRC, with a description of synchrotron radiation microscopy. (4) Recent progress in the development of spatially-resolved photoelectron microscopy, especially the use of zone plate photon optics. (5) The present status of non-scanning photoemission microscopy with slow electrons. (6) the BESSY 2 project for a non-scanning photoelectron microscope with electron optics. (7) Spatially-resolved in situ reaction studies of chemical waves and oscillatory phenomena with the UV photoemission microscope.

The Advanced Research Workshop on the Physical Properties of Semiconductor Interfaces at the Sub-Nanometer Scale was held from 31 August to 2 September, 1992, in Riva del Garda. Italy. The aim of the workshop was to bring together experts in different aspects of the study of semiconductor interfaces and in small-scale devices where the interface properties can be very significant It was our aim that this would help focus research of the growth and characterization of semiconductor interfaces at the atomic scale on the issues that will have the greatest impact on devices of the future. Some 30 participants from industrial and academic research institutes and from 11 countries contributed to the workshop with papers on their recent wode. . 'There was ample time for discussion after each talk. as well as a summary discussion at the end of the meeting. The major themes of the meeting are described below. The meeting included several talks relating to the different growth techniques used in heteroepitaxial growth of semiconductors. Horikoshi discussed the atomistic processes involved in MBE, MEE and MOCVD, presenting results of experimental RHEED and photoluminescence measurements; Foxon compared the merits of MBE, MOCVD, and eBE growth; Molder described RHEED studies of Si/Ge growth by GSMBE, and Pashley discussed the role of surface reconstructions in MBE growth as seen from STM studies on GaAs. On the theoretical side, Vvedensky described several different methods to model growth: molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo techniques, and analytic modeling.

The subject of surface physics has now grown to become an exciting interdisciplinary field of research with important practical applications.The purpose of this book is to provide a guided tour of some recent advances, key research issues and approaches in electronic processes at solid surfaces.Apart from a few structural studies, selected topics have been chosen to illustrate the dynamical response of the solid surface to external probes, with the main emphasis on electron transfer phenomena.

The Foundation for Advances in Medicine and Science (FAMS), the organizers of SCANNING 98, sponsored its third annual Atomic Force Microscopy/Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Symposium at the Omni Inner Harbor Hotelin Baltimore, Maryland, from May 9 to 12, 1998. This book represents the compilation of papers that were presented at the AFM/STM Symposium as well as a few that were presented at SCANNING 96 and SCANNING 97 meetings that took place in Monterey, California. The purpose of the symposium was to provide an interface between scientists and engineers, representatives of industry, government and academia, all of whom have a common interest in probe microscopies. The meetings offered an ideal forum where ideas could easily be exchanged and where individuals from diverse fields who are on the cutting edge ofprobe microscopy research could communicate with one another. Experts in probe microscopy from around the world representing a wide range of disciplines including physics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, chemistry, material science, etc., were invited to participate. The format of the meeting was structured so as to encourage communication among these individuals. During the first day’s sessions papers were presented on general topics such as application of scanning probe microscopy in materials science; STM and scanning tunneling spectroscopy of organic materials; fractal analysis in AFM; and nanomanipulation. Other papers presented included unexpected ordering of a molecule; synthesis ofpeptides and oligonucleotides; and analysis oflunar soils from Apollo 11.