Emergent Local Probe Techniques

New local probe techniques continue to be developed for studying several particular interactions at the nanoscale and also as ideal tools for nano-patterning at this scale. Their applications in electrochemistry and friction phenomena have a special relevance for improving energy efficiency and energy storage devices. Friction represents a drawback in increasing energy efficiency performances of micro-electromechanical devices. The SPM techniques are also the ideal tools to study friction at the nanoscale and understanding the force that arises from the zero-point field may enable its control and so improving the non-contact motion of molecular motors and nanomachines. For sub-micron distance between two bodies, the Casimir force far exceeds the gravitational force. Thus, precision measurements of the Casimir force can be used for checking unification theories of the existence of extra dimensions along with a host of new particles that lead to deviations from Newtonian gravity in the 100 nm distance range.