Scanning probe microscopies (SPM) have opened the window into characterization of nanoscale functionalities of a broad panoply of materials and devices. This lecture series summarizes the principles, theoretical basis, techniques, and applications of piezoresponse force microscopy and electrochemical strain microscopies, the SPM techniques based on the electromechanical detection. The image formation mechanisms, spectroscopic and excitation modes, imaging in ambient, liquid, and vacuum environments and associated artifacts are discussed, as are application to broad ranges of materials systems from ferroelectrics to energy and information technology materials to biological systems. The lectures are available at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS6ZvEWHZ3OPifI9LVKnHX7tK38iTltOD.

Electronic and ionic transport underpins functionality of broad range of electronic and energy devices, and is an active field of applied and fundamental research. The lecture series on Kelvin probe force microscopy and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based current-voltage (I-V) transport measurements introduces the basic principles of SPM techniques for transport measurements based on potential and current detection, describes the multitude of dynamics variants of KPFM, KPFM-based transport measurements, and its implementation in ambient, vacuum, and liquid environments and associated artifacts. Multidimensional current- and capacitance-based transport measurements are described. The lectures are available at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS6ZvEWHZ3OOkRFPTrnsV3Ej09UGUjor3.

This article describes an atomic force microscope (AFM) that can operate in any scanning electron microscope (SEM) or SEM combined with a focused ion-beam (FIB) column. The combination of AFM, SEM imaging, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), FIB milling, and nanofabrication methods (field-emission scanning probe lithography, tip-based electron beam induced deposition, and nanomachining) provides a new tool for correlative nanofabrication and microscopy. Piezoresistive, thermo-mechanically actuated cantilevers (active cantilevers) are used for fast imaging and nanofabrication. Thus, the AFM with active cantilevers integrated into an SEM (AFMinSEM) can generate and characterize nanostructures in situ without breaking vacuum or contaminating the sample.

This overview is meant to help newer microscopists decide on an appropriate high-resolution method for nanoscale and microscale materials characterization. The operating principles, capabilities, and resolution of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), as well as the needs for sample preparation and the constraints imposed on the sample environment within the microscope, are compared and contrasted. This is followed by a similar assessment of the merits and challenges of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Preparation of electron-transparent thin specimens can be costly in terms of time and is often challenging. Materials and products are becoming more complex, and device components are getting smaller each year. On the other hand, analysis and diagnostic methods become more exacting. Lack of time and high costs for diagnostics force companies to speed up, simplify, and customize the analysis process. Ultra-short-pulsed laser-based sample preparation can speed up the process and make possible new sample geometries. This article shows the advantages of this technology and how it can be used to prepare TEM lamellas (H-Bar) and multiple APT tips or pillars.