Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2016
ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter / Sub-millimeter Array will be the first instrument allowing very high angular resolution (down to 0.01″) with sufficient sensitivity to image thermal emission from dust and molecules in proto-planetary disks at wavelengths where these disks are optically thin. Its unsurpassed characteristics will make it a premier instrument to study the formation of binary and multiple systems. I present here the projected characteristics of ALMA, in particular the expected sensitivities and frequency coverage, and illustrates some possible applications relevant to the study of binary star formation.