About 40 years have passed, since commercial surface analyses instruments for electron spectroscopy appeared, and these instruments are now widely used in production lines as well as research fields. Since 1982, many international research projects have been executed under VAMAS umbrella, and a lot of information has been obtained to improve the reliability of surface analyses. In 1991, ISO TC201 was established to achieve the standardization of surface chemical analyses, and 38 ISO standards have been published. In this paper, the research results on the improvement of the reliability of electron spectroscopy are introduced, and the ISO standards directly relating to the electron spectroscopy are explained.

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Recent advance in semiconductor hetero-structure formation technology using crystal growth enabled us to form quantum wires and quantum dots, as well as quantum wells. Here, we review the quantum wire formation technologies which confine an electron or a hole within one-dimension, and their physical properties and device applications. We also introduce recent progresses of semiconductor nanowire fabrication by using crystal growth and their device applications.

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Noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) achieved not only single atom imaging, but also the single-atom chemical identification by the force spectroscopy and the force mapping. Moreover, by the precise tip-sample distance control around the nearcontact region, AFM achieved not only the conventional vertical and lateral atom manipulation of single atoms, but also the lateral atom interchange manipulation and vertical atom interchange manipulation of heterogeneous atoms that enabled us to construct embedded atom letters at room temperature. Hereafter, AFM/STM simultaneous measurements using the conductive tip will develop toward not only the AFM/STM atomic imaging, but also toward various AFM/STM spectroscopy and atom manipulations.

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Determination method of atomic structures by the reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) dynamical theory is described for several systems on Si(111) surfaces. A typical determination method is shown for the atomic structure of the Si(111) “1×1” surface at high temperatures. An example of the structural analysis during adsorption or growth process of silicon on the Si(111) surface is also shown and evolutions of silicon atoms on the surface is revealed.

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This article summarizes recent progress and current scientific understanding of atomic and/or electronic structures of ultrathin SiO₂ films and/or its interface with Si substrates in addition to the review of scientific achievements done in the past 30 years.

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Historical development of the research trend on LB films, invented by I. Langmuir and K. Blodgett in the 1930's, with relation to the molecular organization is briefly summarized in this article. A large attention was paid to LB films expected as important key materials of “molecular electronics devices” emerged in the 1980's. LB films were widely expected in the field of electronics, photonics, biotechnology, and sensing technology. The development and modern aspect of the LB film research inspired new generation of “molecular self-assembly”. The “polyion complex deposition technique” merged the two worlds of LB films and bilayer membranes, and induced a new technology of the “Layer by Layer” deposition. Mesooscopic pattern formation during dewetting process of LB film deposition provided a new field of molecular patterning based on “self-organization”.

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Probing the step-by-step bonding processes induced by the individual interactions in a molecular complex and their variation with the surrounding conditions is a key factor for enabling further advances in biophysics and chemistry and their applications. Here, we demonstrate a methodology that realizes the site-selective anatomy of molecular interactions at the single-molecule level. With the combination of cross-linkers and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) that we developed to enable a precise analysis by dynamic force spectroscopy (DFS), direct and bridged interactions at each reaction site in a typical ligand-receptor system, streptavidin-biotin complex, were clearly distinguished and individually analyzed for the first time, providing a greater understanding of step-by-step progress of the bonding process. This methodology will provide a foundation for further advances in biophysics and chemistry and their applications, such as designing and controlling the mechanism of chemical reactions between functional molecules.

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