US market for molecular, nanoscale, and atomic imaging was worth some $1.6 bln in 2006 and is expected to increase to $1.8 bln in 2007 and $4.2 bln by 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5% over the next five years. The market is broken down into applications of imaging hardware and imaging probes. Of these segments, imaging hardware represents 69.7% of the total molecular, nanoscale, and atomic imaging market with a value of $1.3 bln in 2007. This segment is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 18% to exceed $2.8 bln in 2012. Within the imaging systems market, scanning electron microscopes captured the largest share with a value of $295.8 mln in 2007. This segment is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 15.2%, reaching $601.3 mln by 2012, BCC Research reports.