Awareness is rapidly expanding of the impact of scanning probe microscopy on micro- and nano-electronics as an unprecedented tool for fabrication and characterization. It has even been proposed as a novel element of advanced electronic devices. With an obvious need for a professional meeting focused on the industrial aspects of this impact, the Tsukuba Workshop on Scanning Probe-based Nanoelectronics, SP-Nano'96, was held on 19 and 20 of December 1996 in Tsukuba, Japan. It was the intention of the organizers to provide a forum not only for researchers in the field of scanning probe microscopy per se, but also for practitioners of this new technique in the electronics industry. This special issue consists of selected papers from the workshop, which hopefully convey state-of-the-art developments and future directions in this exciting field. We would like to gratefully acknowledge generous support from the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, (AIST), and Foundation Advanced Technology Institute, (ATI), which made this workshop possible.

Hiroshi Yokoyama and Junji Itoh

Electrotechnical Laboratory, 1-1-4 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan

Hiroshi Tokumoto

National Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, 1-1-4 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan

30 July 1997