NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Grant No. DMR-02050701 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation and Contract No. DE-FG02-02ER45989 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Cover:

Image of a silicon crystal obtained using a 300-kV VG microscope HB603U scanning transmission electron microscope equipped with a Nion aberration corrector, by M. Chisholm, with processing by A. Borisevich and A. Lupini and aberration correction by P. Nellist, N. Dellby, and O. Krivanek, Nion Company. Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

JEOL 4000EX 400-kV top-entry, high-resolution electron microscope equipped with an LaB6 filament. Courtesy of the Nanoscale Materials Characterization Facility, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, http://www.virginia.edu/ms/electronfacility.html.

Two single-walled nanotubes (SWNT), the basis of many structures—and much research—in nanotechnology. Image courtesy of Accelrys, http://www.accelrys.com.

Graphical representation of secondary ion mass spectroscopy featuring sputtering of “water molecules.” Courtesy of SIMS Workshop.