As Nanotechnology turned from marvelous vision to exciting reality, the need for a quickly accessible source of application-oriented, authoritative and comprehensive information arose. The Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology meets this requirement by integrating the knowledge from nanofabrication, nanomechanics, materials science, and reliability engineering in just one volume. Beside the presentation of nanostructures, micro/nanofabrication, and micro/nanodevices, special emphasis is on scanning probe microscopy, nanotribology and nanomechanics, molecularly thick films, industrial applications and microdevice reliability, and on social and ethical implications. The book is organized by an experienced editor with a universal knowledge and written by an international team of distinguished experts (e.g. Nobel prize winner Gerd K. Binnig). It addresses mechanical and electrical engineers, materials scientists, physicists and chemists who work either in the nano area or in a field that is or will be influenced by this new key technology. From the foreword "Professor Bhushan has harnessed his own knowledge and experience, gained in several industries and universities, and has assembled over 100 internationally recognized authors from three continents to write more than 40 chapters. The authors come from both academia and industry ... This book] is a timely addition to the literature on nanotechnology, which I anticipate will stimulate further interest in this important new field and serve as an invaluable resource to members of the international scientific and industrial community."NEAL LANE, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, RICE UNIVERSITY, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT CLINTON AND DIRECTOR OF THE NSF