The continuous improvements in conventional lithography methods for integrated circuit hardware allow further device shrinkage deep into the sub-micron dimensions. Two major drawbacks of these high-end patterning methods based on photoresist technologies are i) their high process costs and ii) their limited process versatility. Increased flexibility, however, becomes important for the engineering of advanced nano/micro-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS), such as ultra-thin solid-state membrane or cantilever devices, polymer-based devices, micro/nanofluidics, and bio-analytical systems. Often standard lithography methods cannot be applied on unconventional materials, because the surfaces to be structured are either mechanically unstable and/or (bio-) chemically functionalized. Bottom-up methods relying on self-assembling strategies are making tremendous progress to form ordered structures with nanometer precision, but they still lack control on a larger scale. The key aspect in the near future is to find new ways to tie top-down and bottom-up methods together, and to connect structures across the nano/micro gap so that the improved effects relying on nanometer dimensions can be efficiently scaled-up. Recently, a series of new, alternative surface patterning methods related to MEMS technology have been developed, such as molecule delivery via DipPen/NADIS lithography or soft-lithography, thermo-mechanical indentation by Nanoimprint lithography, or local deposition via nanostencils. Due to their versatility and multiple length-scale capabilities they have great potential to form bridges between nano and micro-world. We will present some examples of our contribution to the field of MEMS and Nanotechnology, such as large area nanostencil based on a DUV/MEMS membrane, NEMS devices, functional SAM layers for MEMS, self-assembled nanowire sensors, nanoscale Hall-probe on surface released polymer cantilevers, and focused ion beam (FIB) and focused electron beam (FEB) nanofabrication. Some of these examples are presented in detail during TNT’04.