Nanoscale Reference Materials

Globalisation of both science and trade has increased the relevance of the ­comparability of measurement data whether in research, industry or regulatory contexts. Reference materials (RMs) are essential tools in the quest for comparable and reliable measurement results, a quest which laboratories, worldwide, are tasked with every day. An explicit acknowledgement of the importance of RMs in today’s measurement systems is found, for instance, in the laboratory accreditation standards, such as ISO/IEC 17025 [1].