The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has made it to number one on any budding nanoscientists list of equipment, perhaps due to the sheer versatility of the techniques with its ability to work in air and liquid, while measuring everything from topology to friction.
Although immensely useful to a scientist, the instrument has a major drawback acquiring date by dragging a tip carefully across the surface takes a very long time, making it virtually useless in industrial applications where constant monitoring of a process is required.
We are aware of at least three start-ups working to address this issue, as are Veeco, who along with partners Dow, have just managed to persuade NIST to part with $6.6 million to develop their own response. We enjoyed this Detroitcentric take on things.