  We review recent progress and future prospects of matter wave interferometry
with complex organic molecules and inorganic clusters. Three variants of a
near-field interference effect, based on diffraction by material
nanostructures, at optical phase gratings, and at ionizing laser fields are
considered. We discuss the theoretical concepts underlying these experiments
and the experimental challenges. This includes optimizing interferometer
designs as well as understanding the role of decoherence. The high sensitivity
of matter wave interference experiments to external perturbations is
demonstrated to be useful for accurately measuring internal properties of
delocalized nanoparticles. We conclude by investigating the prospects for
probing the quantum superposition principle in the limit of high particle mass
and complexity.
