Design and characterization of materials on the atomic scale

It is the dream of many material scientists to understand the property and behavior of materials on the atomic scale. In addition, in many applications, there is the trend to reduce the size of material structures. Recent advances in atomic resolution microscopy make possible to modify the structure at the surface of materials on the atomic scale, to study the local atomic and electronic properties as well as the atomic and molecular dynamics at material surfaces, and to analyze the chemical element of site and layer specific atoms. How to design and create material structures of nanometer and subnanometer sizes with desired physical properties and acceptable thermal and chemical stability will be one of the important challenges for future material research.