Reviews of surface characterization have appeared in Analytical Chemistry every two years since 1977 (1-11). The field continues to grow and diversify with new surface analysis techniques as well as new applications. This review is similar to the last one in this series, being written by multiple authors with different specialties in an attempt to highlight advances in each of these areas. This review begins with literature from January 1997 and ends with literature from approximately October, 1998.