Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) have become valuable instruments for development and quality control in the semiconductor industry. They provide new capabilities for inspection and metrology of surfaces on a sub-micron scale. The key to their operation is the positioning and scanning of a small tip, or probe, at a minute distance over the surface. The ability to track the position of a surface with an accuracy of the order of a nanometer is advancing the frontiers of micro- or nano-metrology in the semiconductor industry. The standard Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), using a conical shaped tip, is the most widely used type of SPM for inspection and metrology. This technology essentially measures depth of structures with high precision. Recent technical developments have added the capability to accurately measure width of lines and trenches, using a flared tip and an improved scanning and tracking method for the tip. Other techniques have evolved that measure magnetic properties on the nanometer scale. The talk will review the recent developments of scanning probes with special focus on applications to manufacturing.