Nowadays, we can fairly easily observe and manipulate atoms and molecules on solid surfaces with the help of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). However, we cannot yet identify the chemical species of atoms and molecules we observe or manipulate just by using the present SPM technique. Towards establishment of such a technique based on the SPM, there are many researches going on throughout the world. Here we shall overview these researches very briefly, by emphasizing our own research on “Atomic manipulation and identification techniques by combining SPM ability of atomic manipulation with atom probe (AP) ability of atomic mass analysis”;.
