Introduction and Physical Background

The quantitative evaluation of material surface coverage at the nanoscale resolution is a fundamental requirement for many modern surface science applications. This chapter introduces the operating principle of the atomic force microscopy and other scanning probe microscopic techniques that could find relevant applications of further developments of the coverage spectroscopic method we present in this book. The chapter proceeds with an overview of carbon nanotubes, focusing on their crystalline structure, material processing, sorting methods, and spectroscopic characterization. A short introduction to silver nanowire closes the chapter.