Abstract
In the past decade, the field of microscopy has been revolutionized by the introduction of a range of microscopies - scanning probe microscopes that are capable of measuring physical and chemical properties on the nanoscale. These microscopes - which were stimulated by the scanning tunneling microscope - have had a major impact on the understanding of material surfaces. The development of the key concepts of scanning probe microscopes is reviewed from their early history to current technologies. Some key applications of scanning probe microscopes are presented and the future advances that are likely to come to fruition in the next decade are discussed.