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{{short description|Type of microscope with electrons as a source of illumination}}
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{{distinguish|Scanning tunneling microscope}}
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] in a scanning electron microscope]]{{More citations needed|date=September 2023}}


An '''electron microscope''' is a ] that uses a beam of ]s as a source of illumination. They use ] that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing them to produce magnified images or ] patterns. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times smaller than that of visible light, electron microscopes have a much higher ] of about 0.1 nm, which compares to about 200 nm for ]s.<ref name="Encyclopaedia Britannica">{{cite web |title=Electron microscope |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/electron-microscope |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref> ''Electron microscope'' may refer to:
An '''electron microscope''' is a type of ] that uses a ] of ]s to illuminate a specimen and create a highly-magnified image. Electron microscopes have much greater ] than ] that use ] and can obtain much higher ]s of up to 1 million times, while the best light microscopes are limited to magnifications of 1000 times. Both electron and light microscopes have resolution limitations, imposed by the wavelength of the ] they use. The greater resolution and magnification of the electron microscope is because the ] of an ] is much smaller than that of a ] of visible light.
*] (TEM) where swift electrons go through a thin sample
The electron microscope uses ] and ] lenses in forming the image by controlling the electron beam to focus it at a specific plane relative to the specimen. This manner is similar to how a light microscope uses glass lenses to focus light on or through a specimen to form an image.
*] (STEM) which is similar to TEM with a scanned electron probe
*] (SEM) which is similar to STEM, but with thick samples
*] similar to a SEM, but more for chemical analysis
*] (LEEM), used to image surfaces
*] (PEEM) which is similar to LEEM using electrons emitted from surfaces by photons
Additional details can be found in the above links. This article contains some general information mainly about transmission electron microscopes.


==History== == History ==
{{See also|Transmission electron microscopy#History}}
] in 1933]]
] in the 1930s]]
The first electron microscope prototype was built in 1931 by the German engineers ] and ].<ref name="RuskaNobel"></ref> Although this initial instrument was capable of magnifying objects by only four hundred times, it demonstrated the principles of an electron microscope. Two years later, Ruska constructed an electron microscope that exceeded the resolution possible with an optical microscope.<ref name="RuskaNobel"/>
Many developments laid the groundwork of the ] used in microscopes.<ref name="Calbick-1944">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Calbick CJ |date=1944 |title=Historical Background of Electron Optics |journal=Journal of Applied Physics |volume=15 |issue=10 |pages=685–690 |doi=10.1063/1.1707371 |bibcode=1944JAP....15..685C }}</ref> One significant step was the work of ] in 1883<ref name="Hertz-2019">{{cite book | vauthors = Hertz H | veditors = Mulligan JF |chapter = Introduction to Heinrich Hertz's Miscellaneous Papers (1895) by Philipp Lenard |date=2019 | title = Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894) : a collection of articles and addresses |pages=87–88 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780429198960-4 |isbn=978-0-429-19896-0 }}</ref> who made a cathode-ray tube with electrostatic and magnetic deflection, demonstrating manipulation of the direction of an electron beam. Others were focusing of the electrons by an axial magnetic field by ] in 1899,<ref name="Wiechert-1899">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Wiechert E |date=1899 |title=Experimentelle Untersuchungen über die Geschwindigkeit und die magnetische Ablenkbarkeit der Kathodenstrahlen |trans-title=Experimental Investigations on the Velocity and Magnetic Deflection of Cathode Rays |journal=Annalen der Physik und Chemie |language=de |volume=305 |issue=12 |pages=739–766 |doi=10.1002/andp.18993051203 |bibcode=1899AnP...305..739W }}</ref> improved oxide-coated cathodes which produced more electrons by ] in 1905<ref>{{Cite journal | vauthors = Wehnelt A |date=1905 |title=X. On the discharge of negative ions by glowing metallic oxides, and allied phenomena |journal=The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |volume=10 |issue=55 |pages=80–90 |doi=10.1080/14786440509463347 }}</ref> and the development of the electromagnetic lens in 1926 by ].<ref name="Busch-1926">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Busch H |date=1926 |title=Berechnung der Bahn von Kathodenstrahlen im axialsymmetrischen elektromagnetischen Felde |trans-title=Calculation of the trajectory of cathode rays in an axially symmetric electromagnetic field |journal=Annalen der Physik |language=de |volume=386 |issue=25 |pages=974–993 |doi=10.1002/andp.19263862507 |bibcode=1926AnP...386..974B }}</ref> According to ], the physicist ] tried in 1928 to convince him to build an electron microscope, for which Szilárd had filed a patent.<ref name="Dannen-1998">Dannen, Gene (1998) . dannen.com</ref>


To this day the issue of who invented the transmission electron microscope is controversial.<ref name="Mulvey-1962">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Mulvey T |date=1962 |title=Origins and historical development of the electron microscope |journal=British Journal of Applied Physics |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=197–207 |doi=10.1088/0508-3443/13/5/303 }}</ref><ref name="Tao-2018">{{Cite book | vauthors = Tao Y |title=Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018) |chapter=A Historical Investigation of the Debates on the Invention and Invention Rights of Electron Microscope |date=2018 |chapter-url=https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/iccessh-18/25898208 | series = Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research |publisher=Atlantis Press |pages=1438–1441 |doi=10.2991/iccessh-18.2018.313 |isbn=978-94-6252-528-3}}</ref><ref name="Freundlich-1963">{{cite journal | vauthors = Freundlich MM | title = Origin of the Electron Microscope | journal = Science | volume = 142 | issue = 3589 | pages = 185–188 | date = October 1963 | pmid = 14057363 | doi = 10.1126/science.142.3589.185 | bibcode = 1963Sci...142..185F }}</ref><ref name="Rüdenberg-2010">{{cite book |doi=10.1016/s1076-5670(10)60005-5 |title=Origin and Background of the Invention of the Electron Microscope |series=Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics |date=2010 |volume=160 |pages=171–205 |isbn=978-0-12-381017-5 | vauthors = Rüdenberg R }}.</ref> In 1928, at the ] in Charlottenburg (now ]), Adolf Matthias (Professor of High Voltage Technology and Electrical Installations) appointed ] to lead a team of researchers to advance research on electron beams and cathode-ray oscilloscopes. The team consisted of several PhD students including ]. In 1931, ] and ]<ref name="Knoll-1932a">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Knoll M, Ruska E |date=1932 |title=Beitrag zur geometrischen Elektronenoptik. I |journal=Annalen der Physik |volume=404 |issue=5 |pages=607–640 |doi=10.1002/andp.19324040506 |bibcode=1932AnP...404..607K }}</ref><ref name="Knoll-1932b">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Knoll M, Ruska E |date=1932 |title=Das Elektronenmikroskop |journal=Zeitschrift für Physik |language=de |volume=78 |issue=5–6 |pages=318–339 |doi=10.1007/BF01342199 |bibcode=1932ZPhy...78..318K }}</ref> successfully generated magnified images of mesh grids placed over an anode aperture. The device, a replicate of which is shown in the figure, used two magnetic lenses to achieve higher magnifications, the first electron microscope. (Max Knoll died in 1969, so did not receive a share of the 1986 ] for the invention of electron microscopes.)
], the scientific director of ], had patented the electron microscope in 1931, stimulated by family illness to make the ] virus particle visible. In 1937 Siemens began funding Ruska and ] to develop an electron microscope. Siemens also employed Ruska's brother ] to work on applications, particularly with biological specimens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1986/ruska-autobio.html |title=Ernst Ruska Autobiography |accessdate=2007-02-06 |author=Ernst Ruska |year=1986 |publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author = DH Kruger, P Schneck and HR Gelderblom
|date = May 13, 2000|title = Helmut Ruska and the visualisation of viruses
|journal = The Lancet
|volume = 355
|issue = 9216
|pages = 1713–1717
|doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02250-9}}
</ref>


Apparently independent of this effort was work at ] by ]. According to patent law (U.S. Patent No. 2058914<ref name="Rüdenberg-1936">{{Cite web | vauthors = Rüdenberg R |title=Apparatus for producing images of objects |url=https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/2058914 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Patent Public Search Basic}}</ref> and 2070318,<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Rüdenberg R |title=Apparatus for producing images of objects |url=https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/2070318 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Patent Public Search Basic}}</ref> both filed in 1932), he is the inventor of the electron microscope, but it is not clear when he had a working instrument. He stated in a very brief article in 1932<ref name="Rodenberg-1932">{{cite journal |last1=Rüdenberg |first1=R. |title=Elektronenmikroskop |journal=Die Naturwissenschaften |date=July 1932 |volume=20 |issue=28 |pages=522 |doi=10.1007/BF01505383 |bibcode=1932NW.....20..522R }}</ref> that Siemens had been working on this for some years before the patents were filed in 1932, claiming that his effort was parallel to the university development. He died in 1961, so similar to Max Knoll, was not eligible for a share of the 1986 Nobel prize.<ref name="LEO Electron Microscopy">{{Cite web |title=History of Electron Microscope |url=https://www.leo-em.co.uk/history-of-electron-microscope.html |website=LEO Electron Microscopy |access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>
In the same decade ] pioneered the ] and his universal electron microscope.<ref>{{cite journal
|author = M von Ardenne and D Beischer|year = 1940
|title = Untersuchung von metalloxud-rauchen mit dem universal-elektronenmikroskop
|journal = Zeitschrift Electrochemie
|volume = 46
|pages = 270–277
|language = German}}</ref>


In the following year, 1933, Ruska and Knoll built the first electron microscope that exceeded the resolution of an optical (light) microscope.<ref name="Ruska, Ernst-1986">{{cite web |author=Ruska, Ernst |year=1986 |title=Ernst Ruska Autobiography |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1986/ruska-autobio.html |access-date=2010-01-31 |publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref> Four years later, in 1937, Siemens financed the work of Ernst Ruska and ], and employed ], Ernst's brother, to develop applications for the microscope, especially with biological specimens.<ref name="Ruska, Ernst-1986" /><ref name="Kruger-2000">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kruger DH, Schneck P, Gelderblom HR | title = Helmut Ruska and the visualisation of viruses | journal = Lancet | volume = 355 | issue = 9216 | pages = 1713–1717 | date = May 2000 | pmid = 10905259 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02250-9 }}</ref> Also in 1937, ] pioneered the ].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Von Ardenne M, Beischer D |title=Untersuchung von Metalloxyd-Rauchen mit dem Universal-Elektronenmikroskop |trans-title=Investigation of metal oxide smoking with the universal electron microscope |language=de |journal=Zeitschrift für Elektrochemie und Angewandte Physikalische Chemie |date=1940 |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=270–277 |doi=10.1002/bbpc.19400460406 }}</ref> Siemens produced the first commercial electron microscope in 1938.<ref>. Authors.library.caltech.edu (2002-12-10). Retrieved on 2017-04-29.</ref> The first North American electron microscopes were constructed in the 1930s, at the ] by Anderson and Fitzsimmons <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2018/05/14/wsu-home-north-americas-first-electron-microscope/|title = North America's first electron microscope}}</ref> and at the ] by ] and students Cecil Hall, ], and Albert Prebus. Siemens produced a transmission electron microscope (TEM) in 1939.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/Invent/iow/hillier.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030823110629/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/hillier.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-08-23 |title=James Hillier|website=Inventor of the Week: Archive |date=2003-05-01 |access-date=2010-01-31}}</ref> Although current transmission electron microscopes are capable of two million times magnification, as scientific instruments they remain similar but with improved optics.
Siemens produced the first commercial Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) in 1939, but the first practical electron microscope had been built at the ] in 1938, by ] and students Cecil Hall, ], and Albert Prebus.<ref></ref>


In the 1940s, high-resolution electron microscopes were developed, enabling greater magnification and resolution.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Hawkes PW |title=The Beginnings of Electron Microscopy. Part 1 |date=2021 |publisher=Academic Press |location=London San Diego, CA Cambridge, MA Oxford |isbn=978-0-323-91507-6}}</ref> By 1965, ] at the ] introduced the scanning transmission electron microscope using a ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crewe |first1=A. V. |last2=Eggenberger |first2=D. N. |last3=Wall |first3=J. |last4=Welter |first4=L. M. |date=1968-04-01 |title=Electron Gun Using a Field Emission Source |journal=Review of Scientific Instruments |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=576–583 |doi=10.1063/1.1683435 |bibcode=1968RScI...39..576C }}</ref> enabling scanning microscopes at high resolution.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Crewe AV | title = Scanning electron microscopes: is high resolution possible? | journal = Science | volume = 154 | issue = 3750 | pages = 729–738 | date = November 1966 | pmid = 17745977 | doi = 10.1126/science.154.3750.729 | bibcode = 1966Sci...154..729C }}</ref> By the early 1980s improvements in mechanical stability as well as the use of higher accelerating voltages enabled imaging of materials at the atomic scale.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=David J. |last2=Camps |first2=R. A. |last3=Freeman |first3=L. A. |last4=Hill |first4=R. |last5=Nixon |first5=W. C. |last6=Smith |first6=K. C. A. |date=May 1983 |title=Recent improvements to the Cambridge University 600 kV High Resolution Electron Microscope |journal=Journal of Microscopy |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=127–136 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2818.1983.tb04211.x }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199668632.001.0001 |title=High-Resolution Electron Microscopy |date=2013 |last1=Spence |first1=John C. H. |isbn=978-0-19-966863-2 }}{{pn|date=January 2025}}</ref> In the 1980s, the ] became common for electron microscopes, improving the image quality due to the additional coherence and lower chromatic aberrations. The 2000s were marked by advancements in aberration-corrected electron microscopy, allowing for significant improvements in resolution and clarity of images.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hawkes |first1=P. W. |title=Aberration correction past and present |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |date=28 September 2009 |volume=367 |issue=1903 |pages=3637–3664 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2009.0004 |pmid=19687058 |bibcode=2009RSPTA.367.3637H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=H. H. |title=Historical aspects of aberration correction |journal=Journal of Electron Microscopy |date=June 2009 |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=77–85 |doi=10.1093/jmicro/dfp012 |pmid=19254915 }}</ref>
Although modern electron microscopes can magnify objects up to two million times, they are still based upon Ruska's ]. The electron microscope is an essential item of equipment in many laboratories. Researchers use them to examine biological materials (such as ] and ]), a variety of large ], medical ] samples, ] and ] structures and the characteristics of various surfaces. The electron microscope is also used extensively for inspection, quality assurance and failure analysis applications in industry, including, in particular, ].


==Types== == Types ==
====Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)====
{{main|Transmission electron microscope}}
The original form of electron microscope, the ] (TEM) uses a high ] ] to create an image. The electrons are emitted by an ], commonly fitted with a ] filament ] as the electron source. The electron beam is accelerated by an ] typically at +100 k] (40 to 400 keV) with respect to the cathode, focused by ] and ] lenses, and transmitted through the specimen that is in part transparent to electrons and in part ] them out of the beam. When it emerges from the specimen, the electron beam carries information about the structure of the specimen that is magnified by the ] system of the microscope. The spatial variation in this information (the "image") is viewed by projecting the magnified electron image onto a fluorescent viewing screen coated with a ] or ] material such as zinc sulfide. The image can be photographically recorded by exposing a ] or ] directly to the electron beam, or a high-resolution phosphor may be coupled by means of a lens optical system or a ] light-guide to the sensor of a CCD (]) camera. The image detected by the CCD may be displayed on a monitor or computer.


]
Resolution of the TEM is limited primarily by ], but a new generation of aberration correctors have been able to partially overcome spherical aberration to increase resolution. Hardware correction of spherical aberration for the High Resolution TEM (]) has allowed the production of images with resolution below 0.5 ] (50 ]s)<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.096101|title=Atomic-Resolution Imaging with a Sub-50-pm Electron Probe|year=2009|author=Erni, Rolf|journal=Physical Review Letters|volume=102|pages=096101}}</ref> at magnifications above 50 million times.<ref>, DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES).</ref> The ability to determine the positions of atoms within materials has made the HRTEM an important tool for nano-technologies research and development.<ref>{{cite journal|author = Michael A. O'Keefe, Lawrence F. Allard|title = Sub-Ångstrom Electron Microscopy for Sub-Ångstrom Nano-Metrology|url = http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/821768-E3YVgN/native/821768.pdf}}</ref>


=== Transmission electron microscope (TEM) ===
====Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)====
{{Main|Scanning Electron Microscope}} {{Main|Transmission electron microscope}}
]
] in a scanning electron microscope]]
The original form of the electron microscope, the ] (TEM), uses a ] ] to illuminate the specimen and create an image. An electron beam is produced by an ], with the electrons typically having energies in the range 20 to 400 keV, focused by ] lenses, and transmitted through the specimen. When it emerges from the specimen, the electron beam carries information about the structure of the specimen that is magnified by lenses of the microscope. The spatial variation in this information (the "image") may be viewed by projecting the magnified electron image onto a ]. For example, the image may be viewed directly by an operator using a fluorescent viewing screen coated with a ] or ] material such as ]. A high-resolution phosphor may also be coupled by means of a lens optical system or a ] light-guide to the sensor of a ]. ] have no scintillator and are directly exposed to the electron beam, which addresses some of the limitations of scintillator-coupled cameras.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cheng Y, Grigorieff N, Penczek PA, Walz T | title = A primer to single-particle cryo-electron microscopy | journal = Cell | volume = 161 | issue = 3 | pages = 438–449 | date = April 2015 | pmid = 25910204 | pmc = 4409659 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2015.03.050 }}</ref>


The resolution of TEMs is limited primarily by ], but a new generation of hardware correctors can reduce spherical aberration to increase the resolution in ] (HRTEM) to below 0.5 ] (50 ]s),<ref name="Erni-2009">{{cite journal | vauthors = Erni R, Rossell MD, Kisielowski C, Dahmen U | title = Atomic-resolution imaging with a sub-50-pm electron probe | journal = Physical Review Letters | volume = 102 | issue = 9 | pages = 096101 | date = March 2009 | pmid = 19392535 | doi = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.096101 | bibcode = 2009PhRvL.102i6101E | url = https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3cs0m4vr }}</ref> enabling magnifications above 50 million times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/scale_of_things.html |title=The Scale of Things |date=2006-05-26 |publisher=Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy |access-date=2010-01-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201175106/http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/scale_of_things.html |archive-date=2010-02-01 }}</ref> The ability of HRTEM to determine the positions of atoms within materials is useful for nano-technologies research and development.<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = O'Keefe MA , Allard LF |title = Sub-Ångstrom Electron Microscopy for Sub-Ångstrom Nano-Metrology|url=http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/821768-E3YVgN/native/821768.pdf |publisher=Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information – Sponsored by OSTI |date=2004-01-18}}</ref>
Unlike the TEM, where electrons of the high voltage beam carry the image of the specimen, the electron beam of the ] (SEM)<ref></ref> does not at any time carry a complete image of the specimen. The SEM produces images by probing the specimen with a focused electron beam that is scanned across a rectangular area of the specimen (]ning). At each point on the specimen the incident electron beam loses some energy, and that lost energy is converted into other forms, such as heat, emission of ], light emission (]) or ] emission. The display of the SEM maps the varying intensity of any of these signals into the image in a position corresponding to the position of the beam on the specimen when the signal was generated. In the SEM image of an ant shown at right, the image was constructed from signals produced by a secondary electron detector, the normal or conventional imaging mode in most SEMs.


=== Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) ===
Generally, the image resolution of an SEM is about an order of magnitude poorer than that of a TEM. However, because the SEM image relies on surface processes rather than transmission it is able to image bulk samples up to several centimetres in size (depending on instrument design) and has a much greater depth of view, and so can produce images that are a good representation of the 3D structure of the sample.
{{Main|Scanning transmission electron microscopy}}
The STEM rasters a focused incident probe across a specimen. The high resolution of the TEM is thus possible in STEM. The focusing action (and aberrations) occur before the electrons hit the specimen in the STEM, but afterward in the TEM. The STEMs use of SEM-like beam rastering simplifies ], and other analytical techniques, but also means that image data is acquired in serial rather than in parallel fashion.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-40093-8_4 |chapter=Elements of a Transmission Electron Microscope |title=Transmission Electron Microscopy |series=Springer Series in Optical Sciences |date=2008 |volume=36 |pages=75–138 |isbn=978-0-387-40093-8 }}</ref>


====Reflection Electron Microscope (REM)==== === Scanning electron microscope (SEM) ===
In the '''Reflection Electron Microscope''' (REM) as in the TEM, an electron beam is incident on a surface, but instead of using the transmission (TEM) or secondary electrons (SEM), the reflected beam of ] is detected. This technique is typically coupled with ] (RHEED) and ''Reflection high-energy loss spectrum (RHELS)''. Another variation is Spin-Polarized Low-Energy Electron Microscopy (SPLEEM), which is used for looking at the microstructure of ]s.<ref></ref>


====Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM)==== ]
{{Main|Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope}}
The STEM rasters a focused incident probe across a specimen that (as with the TEM) has been thinned to facilitate detection of electrons scattered ''through'' the specimen. The high resolution of the TEM is thus possible in STEM. The focusing action (and aberrations) occur before the electrons hit the specimen in the STEM, but afterward in the TEM. The STEMs use of SEM-like beam rastering simplifies ], and other analytical techniques, but also means that image data is acquired in serial rather than in parallel fashion.


{{Main|Scanning electron microscope}}
==Sample preparation==
] in gold for viewing with a scanning electron microscope.]] ]'' taken with a 1960s electron microscope]]
The SEM produces images by probing the specimen with a focused electron beam that is scanned across the specimen (]ning). When the electron beam interacts with the specimen, it loses energy by a variety of mechanisms. These interactions lead to, among other events, emission of ] and high-energy backscattered electrons, light emission (]) or ] emission, all of which provide signals carrying information about the properties of the specimen surface, such as its topography and composition. The image displayed by SEM represents the varying intensity of any of these signals into the image in a position corresponding to the position of the beam on the specimen when the signal was generated.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-40093-8_1 |chapter=Introduction |title=Transmission Electron Microscopy |series=Springer Series in Optical Sciences |date=2008 |volume=36 |pages=1–15 |isbn=978-0-387-40093-8 }}</ref>
Materials to be viewed under an electron microscope may require processing to produce a suitable sample. The technique required varies depending on the specimen and the analysis required:
*''Chemical ]'' for biological specimens aims to stabilize the specimen's mobile macromolecular structure by chemical crosslinking of ]s with ]s such as ] and ], and ]s with ].
*'']'' – freezing a specimen so rapidly, to ] or even ] temperatures, that the water forms ]. This preserves the specimen in a snapshot of its solution state. An entire field called ] has branched from this technique. With the development of ] (CEMOVIS), it is now possible to observe samples from virtually any biological specimen close to its native state.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}
*''Dehydration'' – ], or replacement of ] with organic solvents such as ] or ], followed by ] or infiltration with embedding resins.
*''Embedding, biological specimens'' – after dehydration, tissue for observation in the transmission electron microscope is embedded so it can be sectioned ready for viewing. To do this the tissue is passed through a 'transition solvent' such as epoxy propane and then infiltrated with a ] such as ] ] resin; tissues may also be embedded directly in water-miscible ] resin. After the resin has been polymerised (hardened) the sample is thin sectioned (ultrathin sections) and ] - it is then ready for viewing.
*''Embedding, materials'' - after embedding in resin, the specimen is usually ground and polished to a mirror-like finish using ultra-fine abrasives. The polishing process must be performed carefully to minimize scratches and other polishing artifacts that reduce image quality.
*''Sectioning'' – produces thin slices of specimen, semitransparent to electrons. These can be cut on an ] with a ] knife to produce ultrathin slices about 60-90&nbsp;nm thick. Disposable ] are also used because they can be made in the lab and are much cheaper.
*'']'' – uses heavy metals such as ], ] or ] to scatter imaging electrons and thus give contrast between different structures, since many (especially biological) materials are nearly "transparent" to electrons (weak phase objects). In biology, specimens are can be stained "en bloc" before embedding and also later after sectioning. Typically thin sections are stained for several minutes with an aqueous or alcoholic solution of uranyl acetate followed by aqueous lead citrate.
*''Freeze-fracture or freeze-etch'' – a preparation method particularly useful for examining lipid membranes and their incorporated proteins in "face on" view. The fresh tissue or cell suspension is frozen rapidly (cryofixed), then fractured by simply breaking or by using a microtome while maintained at liquid nitrogen temperature. The cold fractured surface (sometimes "etched" by increasing the temperature to about –100 °C for several minutes to let some ice sublime) is then shadowed with evaporated platinum or gold at an average angle of 45° in a high vacuum evaporator. A second coat of carbon, evaporated perpendicular to the average surface plane is often performed to improve stability of the replica coating. The specimen is returned to room temperature and pressure, then the extremely fragile "pre-shadowed" metal replica of the fracture surface is released from the underlying biological material by careful chemical digestion with acids, ] solution or ] detergent. The still-floating replica is thoroughly washed from residual chemicals, carefully fished up on fine grids, dried then viewed in the TEM.
*''Ion Beam Milling'' – thins samples until they are transparent to electrons by firing ] (typically ]) at the surface from an angle and sputtering material from the surface. A subclass of this is ] milling, where ] ions are used to produce an electron transparent membrane in a specific region of the sample, for example through a device within a microprocessor. Ion beam milling may also be used for cross-section polishing prior to SEM analysis of materials that are difficult to prepare using mechanical polishing.
*''Conductive Coating'' – an ultrathin coating of electrically-conducting material, deposited either by high vacuum evaporation or by low vacuum sputter coating of the sample. This is done to prevent the accumulation of static electric fields at the specimen due to the electron irradiation required during imaging. Such coatings include gold, gold/palladium, platinum, tungsten, graphite etc. and are especially important for the study of specimens with the scanning electron microscope. Another reason for coating, even when there is more than enough conductivity, is to improve contrast, a situation more common with the operation of a FESEM (field emission SEM).


SEMs are different from TEMs in that they use electrons with much lower energy, generally below 20 keV,<ref>{{Cite journal | vauthors = Dusevich V, Purk J, Eick J |date= January 2010 |title=Choosing the Right Accelerating Voltage for SEM (An Introduction for Beginners) |journal=Microscopy Today |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=48–52 |doi=10.1017/s1551929510991190 }}</ref> while TEMs generally use electrons with energies in the range of 80-300 keV.<ref name="Saha-2022" /> Thus, the electron sources and optics of the two microscopes have different designs, and they are normally separate instruments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-07 |title=Electron Microscopy {{!}} Thermo Fisher Scientific - US |url=https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/electron-microscopy.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407190819/https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/electron-microscopy.html |archive-date=2022-04-07 }}</ref>
==Disadvantages==
]. Real electron microscope images do not carry any color information; they are ]. The first degree ] carry in v-form two rows of second degree ], pointing towards the inside of the ]. The purple ball is one micrometer in diameter. To display the total area of this structure one would have to tile this image 7500 times.]]


== Main operating modes ==
Electron microscopes are expensive to build and maintain, but the capital and running costs of ] systems now overlaps with those of basic electron microscopes. They are dynamic rather than static in their operation, requiring extremely stable high-voltage supplies, extremely stable currents to each electromagnetic coil/lens, continuously-pumped high- or ultra-high-vacuum systems, and a cooling water supply circulation through the lenses and pumps. As they are very sensitive to vibration and external magnetic fields, microscopes designed to achieve high resolutions must be housed in stable buildings (sometimes underground) with special services such as magnetic field cancelling systems. Some desktop low voltage electron microscopes have TEM capabilities at very low voltages (around 5 kV) without stringent voltage supply, lens coil current, cooling water or vibration isolation requirements and as such are much less expensive to buy and far easier to install and maintain, but do not have the same ultra-high (atomic scale) resolution capabilities as the larger instruments.
=== Diffraction contrast imaging ===
{{empty section|date=September 2024}}
=== Phase contrast imaging ===
{{empty section|date=September 2024}}
=== High resolution imaging ===
{{empty section|date=September 2024}}
=== Chemical analysis ===
{{empty section|date=September 2024}}
=== Electron diffraction ===
{{Main| Electron diffraction}}
Transmission electron microscopes can be used in ] mode where a map of the angles of the electrons leaving the sample is produced. The advantages of electron diffraction over ] are primarily in the size of the crystals. In X-ray crystallography, crystals are commonly visible by the naked eye and are generally in the hundreds of micrometers in length. In comparison, crystals for electron diffraction must be less than a few hundred nanometers in thickness, and have no lower boundary of size. Additionally, electron diffraction is done on a TEM, which can also be used to obtain many other types of information, rather than requiring a separate instrument.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cowley |first=J. M. |author-link=John M. Cowley |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/Special:BookSources/0-444-82218-6 |title=Diffraction physics |date=1995 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-82218-5 |edition=3rd |series=North Holland personal library |location=Amsterdam}}</ref><ref name="Saha-2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Saha A, Nia SS, Rodríguez JA | title = Electron Diffraction of 3D Molecular Crystals | journal = Chemical Reviews | volume = 122 | issue = 17 | pages = 13883–13914 | date = September 2022 | pmid = 35970513 | pmc = 9479085 | doi = 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00879 }}</ref>


== Sample preparation ==
The samples largely have to be viewed in ], as the molecules that make up air would scatter the electrons. One exception is the environmental scanning electron microscope, which allows hydrated samples to be viewed in a low-pressure (up to {{convert|20|Torr|kPa|disp=s|abbr=on|lk=in}}), wet environment.
Samples for electron microscopes mostly cannot be observed directly. The samples need to be prepared to stabilize the sample and enhance contrast. Preparation techniques differ vastly in respect to the sample and its specific qualities to be observed as well as the specific microscope used.


=== Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) ===
Scanning electron microscopes usually image conductive or semi-conductive materials best. Non-conductive materials can be imaged by an ] microscope. A common preparation technique is to coat the sample with a several-nanometer layer of conductive material, such as ], from a sputtering machine; however, this process has the potential to disturb delicate samples.
] for viewing with a ]]]{{Expand section|date=October 2024}}
To prevent charging and enhance the signal in SEM, non-conductive samples (e.g. biological samples as in figure) can be ] in a thin film of metal.
=== Transmission electron microscope ===
{{See also|Transmission electron microscopy#Sample preparation|Ultramicrotomy|Staining|Cryofixation|Chemical milling|Sputtering|
label 1=TEM Sample preparation}}


Materials to be viewed in a ] (TEM) may require processing to produce a suitable sample. The technique required varies depending on the specimen and the analysis required:
Small, stable specimens such as ], ] frustules and small mineral crystals (asbestos fibres, for example) require no special treatment before being examined in the electron microscope. Samples of hydrated materials, including almost all biological specimens have to be prepared in various ways to stabilize them, reduce their thickness (ultrathin sectioning) and increase their electron optical contrast (staining). These processes may result in '']'', but these can usually be identified by comparing the results obtained by using radically different specimen preparation methods. It is generally believed by scientists working in the field that as results from various preparation techniques have been compared and that there is no reason that they should all produce similar artifacts, it is reasonable to believe that electron microscopy features correspond with those of living cells. In addition, higher-resolution work has been directly compared to results from ], providing independent confirmation of the validity of this technique.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} Since the 1980s, analysis of ], vitrified specimens has also become increasingly used by scientists, further confirming the validity of this technique.<ref name="Adrian1984">{{cite journal |last=Adrian |first=Marc |coauthors=Dubochet, Jacques; Lepault, Jean; McDowall, Alasdair W. |year=1984 |title=Cryo-electron microscopy of viruses |journal=Nature |volume=308 |issue=5954 |pages=32–36 |doi=10.1038/308032a0}}</ref><ref name="Sabanay1991">{{cite journal |last=Sabanay |first=I. |coauthors=Arad, T.; Weiner, S.; Geiger, B. |year=1991|title=Study of vitrified, unstained frozen tissue sections by cryoimmunoelectron microscopy |journal=Journal of Cell Science |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=227–236 |url=http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/100/1/227 |pmid=1795028}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Kasas |first=S. |coauthors=Dumas, G.; Dietler, G.; Catsicas, S.; Adrian, M. |year=2003 |title=Vitrification of cryoelectron microscopy specimens revealed by high-speed photographic imaging |journal=Journal of Microscopy |volume=211 |issue=1 |pages=48–53 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2818.2003.01193.x}}</ref>
* ''Chemical ]'' – for biological specimens this aims to stabilize the specimen's mobile macromolecular structure by chemical crosslinking of ]s with ]s such as ] and ], and ]s with ].<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781118663233.ch10 |chapter=Chemical Fixation |title=Biological Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy |date=2019 |pages=191–221 |isbn=978-1-118-65406-4 | vauthors = Humbel BM, Schwarz H, Tranfield EM, Fleck RA }}</ref>


* '']'' – freezing a specimen so that the water forms ]. This preserves the specimen in a snapshot of its native state. Methods to achieve this vitrification include plunge freezing rapidly in liquid ], and high pressure freezing. An entire field called ] has branched from this technique. With the development of ] of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS)<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Al-Amoudi A, Norlen LP, Dubochet J | title = Cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections of native biological cells and tissues | journal = Journal of Structural Biology | volume = 148 | issue = 1 | pages = 131–135 | date = October 2004 | pmid = 15363793 | doi = 10.1016/j.jsb.2004.03.010 }}</ref> and cryo-] milling of lamellae,<ref name="Wagner-2020">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wagner FR, Watanabe R, Schampers R, Singh D, Persoon H, Schaffer M, Fruhstorfer P, Plitzko J, Villa E | title = Preparing samples from whole cells using focused-ion-beam milling for cryo-electron tomography | journal = Nature Protocols | volume = 15 | issue = 6 | pages = 2041–2070 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32405053 | pmc = 8053421 | doi = 10.1038/s41596-020-0320-x }}</ref> it is now possible to observe samples from virtually any biological specimen close to its native state.
==Applications==
* ''Dehydration'' – replacement of ] with organic solvents such as ] or ], followed by ] or infiltration with embedding ]. See also ].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
:{| style="background-color: transparent; width: 60%"
* ''Embedding, biological specimens'' – after dehydration, tissue for observation in the transmission electron microscope is embedded so it can be sectioned ready for viewing. To do this the tissue is passed through a 'transition solvent' such as ] (epoxypropane) or ] and then infiltrated with an ] ] such as ], Epon, or ];<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Luft |first1=John H. |title=Improvements in epoxy resin embedding methods |journal=The Journal of Cell Biology |date=1 February 1961 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=409–414 |doi=10.1083/jcb.9.2.409 |pmid=13764136 |pmc=2224998 }}</ref> tissues may also be embedded directly in water-miscible ]. After the resin has been polymerized (hardened) the sample is sectioned by ] and ].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
| valign="top" |
* ''Embedding, materials'' – after embedding in resin, the specimen is usually ground and polished to a mirror-like finish using ultra-fine abrasives.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
'''Semiconductor and data storage'''
* {{anchor |freeze-fracture}}''Freeze-fracture or freeze-etch'' – a preparation method<ref>{{cite report |last1=Meryman |first1=H. T. |last2=Kafig |first2=E. |title=The Study of Frozen Specimens, Ice Crystals and Ice Crystal Growth by Electron Microscopy |id=NM 000 018.01.09 |publisher=Naval Medical Research Institute |date=16 August 1955 |pages=529–544 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Steere RL | title = Electron microscopy of structural detail in frozen biological specimens | journal = The Journal of Biophysical and Biochemical Cytology | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–60 | date = January 1957 | pmid = 13416310 | pmc = 2224015 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.3.1.45 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-804017-1.00007-8 |chapter=Natural Surfactants-Based Micro/Nanoemulsion Systems for NSAIDs—Practical Formulation Approach, Physicochemical and Biopharmaceutical Characteristics/Performances |title=Microsized and Nanosized Carriers for Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs |date=2017 |pages=179–217 |isbn=978-0-12-804017-1 | vauthors = Isailović TM, Todosijević MN, Đorđević SM, Savić SD }}</ref> particularly useful for examining lipid membranes and their incorporated proteins in "face on" view.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Moor H, Mühlethaler K | title = Fine Structure in Frozen-Etched Yeast Cells | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | pages = 609–628 | date = June 1963 | pmid = 19866628 | pmc = 2106217 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.17.3.609 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Black JA | chapter =g - Use of Freeze-Fracture in Neurobiology |date= January 1990 | title = Methods in Neurosciences |volume= 3 |pages=343–360 | veditors = Conn PM |series=Quantitative and Qualitative Microscopy |publisher=Academic Press |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-185255-9.50025-0|isbn= 9780121852559 }}</ref><ref name="Stillwell-2016">{{cite book |doi=10.1016/b978-0-444-63772-7.00011-7 |chapter=Long-Range Membrane Properties |title=An Introduction to Biological Membranes |date=2016 |pages=221–245 |isbn=978-0-444-63772-7 | vauthors = Stillwell W }}</ref>] ]The fresh tissue or cell suspension is frozen rapidly (cryofixation), then fractured by breaking<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bullivant S, Ames A | title = A simple freeze-fracture replication method for electron microscopy | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 29 | issue = 3 | pages = 435–447 | date = June 1966 | pmid = 5962938 | pmc = 2106967 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.29.3.435 }}</ref> (or by using a microtome)<ref name="Stillwell-2016" /> while maintained at liquid nitrogen temperature. The cold fractured surface (sometimes "etched" by increasing the temperature to about −100&nbsp;°C for several minutes to let some ice sublime)<ref name="Stillwell-2016" /> is then shadowed with evaporated platinum or gold at an average angle of 45° in a high vacuum evaporator. The second coat of carbon, evaporated perpendicular to the average surface plane is often performed to improve the stability of the replica coating. The specimen is returned to room temperature and pressure, then the extremely fragile "pre-shadowed" metal replica of the fracture surface is released from the underlying biological material by careful chemical digestion with acids, ] solution or ] detergent. The still-floating replica is thoroughly washed free from residual chemicals, carefully fished up on fine grids, dried then viewed in the TEM.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
*Circuit edit
* ''Freeze-fracture replica immunogold labeling (FRIL)'' – the freeze-fracture method has been modified to allow the identification of the components of the fracture face by immunogold labeling. Instead of removing all the underlying tissue of the thawed replica as the final step before viewing in the microscope the tissue thickness is minimized during or after the fracture process. The thin layer of tissue remains bound to the metal replica so it can be immunogold labeled with antibodies to the structures of choice. The thin layer of the original specimen on the replica with gold attached allows the identification of structures in the fracture plane.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gruijters WT, Kistler J, Bullivant S, Goodenough DA | title = Immunolocalization of MP70 in lens fiber 16-17-nm intercellular junctions | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 104 | issue = 3 | pages = 565–572 | date = March 1987 | pmid = 3818793 | pmc = 2114558 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.104.3.565 }}</ref> There are also related methods which label the surface of etched cells<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pinto da Silva P, Branton D | title = Membrane splitting in freeze-ethching. Covalently bound ferritin as a membrane marker | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 598–605 | date = June 1970 | pmid = 4918216 | pmc = 2107921 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.45.3.598 }}</ref> and other replica labeling variations.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rash JE, Johnson TJ, Hudson CS, Giddings FD, Graham WF, Eldefrawi ME | title = Labelled-replica techniques: post-shadow labelling of intramembrane particles in freeze-fracture replicas | journal = Journal of Microscopy | volume = 128 | issue = Pt 2 | pages = 121–138 | date = November 1982 | pmid = 6184475 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1982.tb00444.x }}</ref>
*Defect analysis
* ''Ion beam milling'' – thins samples until they are transparent to electrons by firing ] (typically ]) at the surface from an angle and sputtering material from the surface. A subclass of this is ] milling, where ] ions are used to produce an electron transparent membrane or 'lamella' in a specific region of the sample, for example through a device within a microprocessor or a ] SEM. Ion beam milling may also be used for cross-section polishing prior to analysis of materials that are difficult to prepare using mechanical polishing.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
*]
* '']'' – suspensions containing ]s or fine biological material (such as viruses and bacteria) are briefly mixed with a dilute solution of an electron-opaque solution such as ammonium molybdate, ] (or formate), or ].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} This mixture is applied to an EM grid, pre-coated with a plastic film such as formvar, blotted, then allowed to dry. Viewing of this preparation in the TEM should be carried out without delay for best results. The method is important in microbiology for fast but crude morphological identification, but can also be used as the basis for high-resolution 3D reconstruction using EM tomography methodology when carbon films are used for support.
'''Biology and life sciences'''
* ''Sectioning'' – produces thin slices of the specimen, semitransparent to electrons. These can be cut using ] on an ] with a glass or ] knife to produce ultra-thin sections about 60–90&nbsp;nm thick. Disposable ] are also used because they can be made in the lab and are much cheaper. Sections can also be created in situ by milling in a ] SEM, where the section is known as a lamella.<ref name="Wagner-2020" />
*]
* '']'' – uses heavy metals such as ], ] or ] to scatter imaging electrons and thus give contrast between different structures, since many (especially biological) materials are nearly "transparent" to electrons (weak phase objects). In biology, specimens can be stained "en bloc" before embedding and also later after sectioning. Typically thin sections are stained for several minutes with an aqueous or alcoholic solution of ] followed by aqueous lead citrate.<ref name="Reynolds-1963">{{cite journal | vauthors = Reynolds ES | title = The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 17 | issue = 1 | pages = 208–212 | date = April 1963 | pmid = 13986422 | pmc = 2106263 | doi = 10.1083/jcb.17.1.208 }}</ref>
*]
*Protein localization
*]
*]
*]
*]
*] and ] monitoring
*Particle analysis
*Pharmaceutical QC
*]
*3D tissue imaging
*]
*]
| valign="top" |
'''Research'''
*]
*Materials qualification
*Materials and sample preparation
*Nanoprototyping
*]
*Device testing and characterization
'''Industry'''
*High-resolution imaging
*2D & 3D micro-characterization
*Macro sample to nanometer metrology
*Particle detection and characterization
*Direct beam-writing fabrication
*Dynamic materials experiments
*Sample preparation
*]
*] (mineral liberation analysis)
*]/]
|}


==See also== == EM workflows ==
In their most common configurations, electron microscopes produce images with a single brightness value per pixel, with the results usually rendered in ].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Burgess J |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30A5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA11 |title=Under the Microscope: A Hidden World Revealed |publisher=CUP Archive |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-521-39940-1 |page=11}}</ref> However, often these images are then colourized through the use of feature-detection software, or simply by hand-editing using a graphics editor. This may be done to clarify structure or for aesthetic effect and generally does not add new information about the specimen.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to Electron Microscopy |url=http://www.fei.com/uploadedfiles/documents/content/introduction_to_em_booklet_july_10.pdf |access-date=12 December 2012 |publisher=FEI Company |page=15}}</ref>
*]
*]
*]
*]


Electron microscopes are now frequently used in more complex workflows, with each workflow typically using multiple technologies to enable more complex and/or more quantitative analyses of a sample. A few examples are outlined below, but this should not be considered an exhaustive list. The choice of workflow will be highly dependent on the application and the requirements of the corresponding scientific questions, such as resolution, volume, nature of the target molecule, etc.
==References==
{{reflist|2}}


For example, images from light and electron microscopy of the same region of a sample can be overlaid to correlate the data from the two modalities. This is commonly used to provide higher resolution contextual EM information about a fluorescently labelled structure. This correlative light and electron microscopy (])<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/S0091-679X(17)30069-9 |chapter=Preface |title=Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy III |series=Methods in Cell Biology |date=2017 |volume=140 |pages=xvii |isbn=978-0-12-809975-9 | vauthors = Müller-Reichert T, Verkade P }}</ref> is one of a range of correlative workflows now available. Another example is high resolution mass spectrometry (ion microscopy), which has been used to provide correlative information about subcellular antibiotic localisation,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Finin P, Khan RM, Oh S, Boshoff HI, Barry CE | title = Chemical approaches to unraveling the biology of mycobacteria | journal = Cell Chemical Biology | volume = 30 | issue = 5 | pages = 420–435 | date = May 2023 | pmid = 37207631 | pmc = 10201459 | doi = 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.04.014 }}</ref> data that would be difficult to obtain by other means.
==External links==
{{Commonscat|Electron microscope images}}
* High School (GCSE, A Level) resource
*
===General===
* beautiful images generated with electron microscopes.
* Website of the ETH Zurich: Very good graphics and images, which illustrate various procedures.
*
* – Information portal with X-ray microanalysis and EDX contents


The initial role of electron microscopes in imaging two-dimensional slices (TEM) or a specimen surface (SEM with secondary electrons) has also increasingly expanded into the depth of samples.<ref name="Peddie-2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Peddie CJ, Genoud C, Kreshuk A, Meechan K, Micheva KD, Narayan K, Pape C, Parton RG, Schieber NL, Schwab Y, Titze B, Verkade P, Aubrey A, Collinson LM | title = Volume electron microscopy | journal = Nature Reviews. Methods Primers | volume = 2 | issue = | pages = 51 | date = July 2022 | pmid = 37409324 | pmc = 7614724 | doi = 10.1038/s43586-022-00131-9 }}</ref> An early example of these ‘]’ workflows was simply to stack TEM images of serial sections cut through a sample. The next development was virtual reconstruction of a thick section (200-500 nm) volume by backprojection of a set of images taken at different tilt angles - ].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Crowther RA, Amos LA, Finch JT, De Rosier DJ, Klug A | title = Three dimensional reconstructions of spherical viruses by fourier synthesis from electron micrographs | journal = Nature | volume = 226 | issue = 5244 | pages = 421–425 | date = May 1970 | pmid = 4314822 | doi = 10.1038/226421a0 | bibcode = 1970Natur.226..421C }}</ref>
===History===
*
* Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.


=== Serial imaging for volume EM ===
===Other===
To acquire ] datasets of larger depths than TEM tomography (micrometers or millimeters in the z axis), a series of images taken through the sample depth can be used. For example, ribbons of serial sections can be imaged in a TEM as described above, and when thicker sections are used, serial TEM tomography can be used to increase the z-resolution. More recently, back scattered electron (BSE) images can be acquired of a larger series of sections collected on silicon wafers, known as SEM array tomography.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/bs.mcb.2022.12.023 |chapter=A practical guide to starting SEM array tomography—An accessible volume EM technique |title=Volume Electron Microscopy |series=Methods in Cell Biology |date=2023 |volume=177 |pages=171–196 |isbn=978-0-323-91607-3 | vauthors = White IJ, Burden JJ |pmid=37451766 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kolotuev I | title = Work smart, not hard: How array tomography can help increase the ultrastructure data output | journal = Journal of Microscopy | volume = 295 | issue = 1 | pages = 42–60 | date = July 2024 | pmid = 37626455 | doi = 10.1111/jmi.13217 | doi-access = free }}</ref> An alternative approach is to use BSE SEM to image the block surface instead of the section, after each section has been removed. By this method, an ultramicrotome installed in an SEM chamber can increase automation of the workflow; the specimen block is loaded in the chamber and the system programmed to continuously cut and image through the sample. This is known as serial block face SEM.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Denk W, Horstmann H | title = Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy to reconstruct three-dimensional tissue nanostructure | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 2 | issue = 11 | pages = e329 | date = November 2004 | pmid = 15514700 | pmc = 524270 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020329 | doi-access = free }}</ref> A related method uses ] milling instead of an ultramicrotome to remove sections. In these serial imaging methods, the output is essentially a sequence of images through a specimen block that can be digitally aligned in sequence and thus reconstructed into a ] dataset. The increased volume available in these methods has expanded the capability of electron microscopy to address new questions,<ref name="Peddie-2022" /> such as mapping neural connectivity in the brain,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Abbott LF, Bock DD, Callaway EM, Denk W, Dulac C, Fairhall AL, Fiete I, Harris KM, Helmstaedter M, Jain V, Kasthuri N, LeCun Y, Lichtman JW, Littlewood PB, Luo L, Maunsell JH, Reid RC, Rosen BR, Rubin GM, Sejnowski TJ, Seung HS, Svoboda K, Tank DW, Tsao D, Van Essen DC | title = The Mind of a Mouse | journal = Cell | volume = 182 | issue = 6 | pages = 1372–1376 | date = September 2020 | pmid = 32946777 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.010 | doi-access = free }}</ref> and membrane contact sites between organelles.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Prinz WA, Toulmay A, Balla T | title = The functional universe of membrane contact sites | journal = Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 7–24 | date = January 2020 | pmid = 31732717 | pmc = 10619483 | doi = 10.1038/s41580-019-0180-9 }}</ref>
*
*


== Disadvantages ==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electron Microscope}}
] transmission and scanning electron microscope made in the mid-1970s]]
]
]


Electron microscopes are expensive to build and maintain. Microscopes designed to achieve high resolutions must be housed in stable buildings (sometimes underground) with special services such as magnetic field canceling systems.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Song YL, Lin HY, Manikandan S, Chang LM | title = A Magnetic Field Canceling System Design for Diminishing Electromagnetic Interference to Avoid Environmental Hazard | journal = International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | volume = 19 | issue = 6 | pages = 3664 | date = March 2022 | pmid = 35329350 | pmc = 8954143 | doi = 10.3390/ijerph19063664 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
]

]
The samples largely have to be viewed in ], as the molecules that make up air would scatter the electrons. An exception is ]<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Williamson MJ, Tromp RM, Vereecken PM, Hull R, Ross FM | title = Dynamic microscopy of nanoscale cluster growth at the solid-liquid interface | journal = Nature Materials | volume = 2 | issue = 8 | pages = 532–536 | date = August 2003 | pmid = 12872162 | doi = 10.1038/nmat944 | bibcode = 2003NatMa...2..532W }}</ref> using either a closed liquid cell or an environmental chamber, for example, in the ], which allows hydrated samples to be viewed in a low-pressure (up to {{convert|20|Torr|kPa|disp=or|abbr=on|lk=in}}) wet environment. Various techniques for ] of gaseous samples have been developed.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gai PL, Boyes ED | title = Advances in atomic resolution in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy and 1A aberration corrected in situ electron microscopy | journal = Microscopy Research and Technique | volume = 72 | issue = 3 | pages = 153–164 | date = March 2009 | pmid = 19140163 | doi = 10.1002/jemt.20668 | arxiv = 1705.05754 }}</ref>
]

]
Scanning electron microscopes operating in conventional high-vacuum mode usually image conductive specimens; therefore non-conductive materials require conductive coating (gold/palladium alloy, carbon, osmium, etc.). The low-voltage mode of modern microscopes makes possible the observation of non-conductive specimens without coating. Non-conductive materials can be imaged also by a variable pressure (or environmental) scanning electron microscope.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
]

]
Small, stable specimens such as ], ] frustules and small mineral crystals (asbestos fibres, for example) require no special treatment before being examined in the electron microscope. Samples of hydrated materials, including almost all biological specimens, have to be prepared in various ways to stabilize them, reduce their thickness (ultrathin sectioning) and increase their electron optical contrast (staining). These processes may result in '']'', but these can usually be identified by comparing the results obtained by using radically different specimen preparation methods. Since the 1980s, analysis of ], vitrified specimens has also become increasingly used by scientists, further confirming the validity of this technique.<ref name="Adrian-1984">{{cite journal | vauthors = Adrian M, Dubochet J, Lepault J, McDowall AW | title = Cryo-electron microscopy of viruses | journal = Nature | volume = 308 | issue = 5954 | pages = 32–36 | year = 1984 | pmid = 6322001 | doi = 10.1038/308032a0 | type = Submitted manuscript | bibcode = 1984Natur.308...32A }}</ref><ref name="Sabanay-1991">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sabanay I, Arad T, Weiner S, Geiger B | title = Study of vitrified, unstained frozen tissue sections by cryoimmunoelectron microscopy | journal = Journal of Cell Science | volume = 100 | issue = 1 | pages = 227–236 | date = September 1991 | pmid = 1795028 | doi = 10.1242/jcs.100.1.227 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kasas S, Dumas G, Dietler G, Catsicas S, Adrian M | title = Vitrification of cryoelectron microscopy specimens revealed by high-speed photographic imaging | journal = Journal of Microscopy | volume = 211 | issue = Pt 1 | pages = 48–53 | date = July 2003 | pmid = 12839550 | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2003.01193.x }}</ref>
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* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719110234/http://www.fei.com/resources/student-learning/introduction-to-electron-microscopy/resources.aspx |date=2013-07-19 }}: resources for teachers and students
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Latest revision as of 17:00, 1 January 2025

Type of microscope with electrons as a source of illumination Not to be confused with Scanning tunneling microscope.

A transmission electron microscope from 2002
An image of an ant in a scanning electron microscope
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An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. They use electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing them to produce magnified images or electron diffraction patterns. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times smaller than that of visible light, electron microscopes have a much higher resolution of about 0.1 nm, which compares to about 200 nm for light microscopes. Electron microscope may refer to:

Additional details can be found in the above links. This article contains some general information mainly about transmission electron microscopes.

History

See also: Transmission electron microscopy § History
Reproduction of an early electron microscope constructed by Ernst Ruska in the 1930s

Many developments laid the groundwork of the electron optics used in microscopes. One significant step was the work of Hertz in 1883 who made a cathode-ray tube with electrostatic and magnetic deflection, demonstrating manipulation of the direction of an electron beam. Others were focusing of the electrons by an axial magnetic field by Emil Wiechert in 1899, improved oxide-coated cathodes which produced more electrons by Arthur Wehnelt in 1905 and the development of the electromagnetic lens in 1926 by Hans Busch. According to Dennis Gabor, the physicist Leó Szilárd tried in 1928 to convince him to build an electron microscope, for which Szilárd had filed a patent.

To this day the issue of who invented the transmission electron microscope is controversial. In 1928, at the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin), Adolf Matthias (Professor of High Voltage Technology and Electrical Installations) appointed Max Knoll to lead a team of researchers to advance research on electron beams and cathode-ray oscilloscopes. The team consisted of several PhD students including Ernst Ruska. In 1931, Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska successfully generated magnified images of mesh grids placed over an anode aperture. The device, a replicate of which is shown in the figure, used two magnetic lenses to achieve higher magnifications, the first electron microscope. (Max Knoll died in 1969, so did not receive a share of the 1986 Nobel prize for the invention of electron microscopes.)

Apparently independent of this effort was work at Siemens-Schuckert by Reinhold Rüdenberg. According to patent law (U.S. Patent No. 2058914 and 2070318, both filed in 1932), he is the inventor of the electron microscope, but it is not clear when he had a working instrument. He stated in a very brief article in 1932 that Siemens had been working on this for some years before the patents were filed in 1932, claiming that his effort was parallel to the university development. He died in 1961, so similar to Max Knoll, was not eligible for a share of the 1986 Nobel prize.

In the following year, 1933, Ruska and Knoll built the first electron microscope that exceeded the resolution of an optical (light) microscope. Four years later, in 1937, Siemens financed the work of Ernst Ruska and Bodo von Borries, and employed Helmut Ruska, Ernst's brother, to develop applications for the microscope, especially with biological specimens. Also in 1937, Manfred von Ardenne pioneered the scanning electron microscope. Siemens produced the first commercial electron microscope in 1938. The first North American electron microscopes were constructed in the 1930s, at the Washington State University by Anderson and Fitzsimmons and at the University of Toronto by Eli Franklin Burton and students Cecil Hall, James Hillier, and Albert Prebus. Siemens produced a transmission electron microscope (TEM) in 1939. Although current transmission electron microscopes are capable of two million times magnification, as scientific instruments they remain similar but with improved optics.

In the 1940s, high-resolution electron microscopes were developed, enabling greater magnification and resolution. By 1965, Albert Crewe at the University of Chicago introduced the scanning transmission electron microscope using a field emission source, enabling scanning microscopes at high resolution. By the early 1980s improvements in mechanical stability as well as the use of higher accelerating voltages enabled imaging of materials at the atomic scale. In the 1980s, the field emission gun became common for electron microscopes, improving the image quality due to the additional coherence and lower chromatic aberrations. The 2000s were marked by advancements in aberration-corrected electron microscopy, allowing for significant improvements in resolution and clarity of images.

Types

Operating principle of a transmission electron microscope

Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

Main article: Transmission electron microscope

The original form of the electron microscope, the transmission electron microscope (TEM), uses a high voltage electron beam to illuminate the specimen and create an image. An electron beam is produced by an electron gun, with the electrons typically having energies in the range 20 to 400 keV, focused by electromagnetic lenses, and transmitted through the specimen. When it emerges from the specimen, the electron beam carries information about the structure of the specimen that is magnified by lenses of the microscope. The spatial variation in this information (the "image") may be viewed by projecting the magnified electron image onto a detector. For example, the image may be viewed directly by an operator using a fluorescent viewing screen coated with a phosphor or scintillator material such as zinc sulfide. A high-resolution phosphor may also be coupled by means of a lens optical system or a fibre optic light-guide to the sensor of a digital camera. Direct electron detectors have no scintillator and are directly exposed to the electron beam, which addresses some of the limitations of scintillator-coupled cameras.

The resolution of TEMs is limited primarily by spherical aberration, but a new generation of hardware correctors can reduce spherical aberration to increase the resolution in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) to below 0.5 angstrom (50 picometres), enabling magnifications above 50 million times. The ability of HRTEM to determine the positions of atoms within materials is useful for nano-technologies research and development.

Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)

Main article: Scanning transmission electron microscopy

The STEM rasters a focused incident probe across a specimen. The high resolution of the TEM is thus possible in STEM. The focusing action (and aberrations) occur before the electrons hit the specimen in the STEM, but afterward in the TEM. The STEMs use of SEM-like beam rastering simplifies annular dark-field imaging, and other analytical techniques, but also means that image data is acquired in serial rather than in parallel fashion.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

Operating principle of a scanning electron microscope
Main article: Scanning electron microscope
Image of Bacillus subtilis taken with a 1960s electron microscope

The SEM produces images by probing the specimen with a focused electron beam that is scanned across the specimen (raster scanning). When the electron beam interacts with the specimen, it loses energy by a variety of mechanisms. These interactions lead to, among other events, emission of low-energy secondary electrons and high-energy backscattered electrons, light emission (cathodoluminescence) or X-ray emission, all of which provide signals carrying information about the properties of the specimen surface, such as its topography and composition. The image displayed by SEM represents the varying intensity of any of these signals into the image in a position corresponding to the position of the beam on the specimen when the signal was generated.

SEMs are different from TEMs in that they use electrons with much lower energy, generally below 20 keV, while TEMs generally use electrons with energies in the range of 80-300 keV. Thus, the electron sources and optics of the two microscopes have different designs, and they are normally separate instruments.

Main operating modes

Diffraction contrast imaging

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Phase contrast imaging

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High resolution imaging

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Chemical analysis

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Electron diffraction

Main article: Electron diffraction

Transmission electron microscopes can be used in electron diffraction mode where a map of the angles of the electrons leaving the sample is produced. The advantages of electron diffraction over X-ray crystallography are primarily in the size of the crystals. In X-ray crystallography, crystals are commonly visible by the naked eye and are generally in the hundreds of micrometers in length. In comparison, crystals for electron diffraction must be less than a few hundred nanometers in thickness, and have no lower boundary of size. Additionally, electron diffraction is done on a TEM, which can also be used to obtain many other types of information, rather than requiring a separate instrument.

Sample preparation

Samples for electron microscopes mostly cannot be observed directly. The samples need to be prepared to stabilize the sample and enhance contrast. Preparation techniques differ vastly in respect to the sample and its specific qualities to be observed as well as the specific microscope used.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

An insect coated in gold for viewing with a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
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To prevent charging and enhance the signal in SEM, non-conductive samples (e.g. biological samples as in figure) can be sputter-coated in a thin film of metal.

Transmission electron microscope

See also: TEM Sample preparation, Ultramicrotomy, Staining, Cryofixation, Chemical milling, and Sputtering

Materials to be viewed in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) may require processing to produce a suitable sample. The technique required varies depending on the specimen and the analysis required:

  • Cryofixation – freezing a specimen so that the water forms vitreous (non-crystalline) ice. This preserves the specimen in a snapshot of its native state. Methods to achieve this vitrification include plunge freezing rapidly in liquid ethane, and high pressure freezing. An entire field called cryo-electron microscopy has branched from this technique. With the development of cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS) and cryo-focused ion beam milling of lamellae, it is now possible to observe samples from virtually any biological specimen close to its native state.
  • Dehydration – replacement of water with organic solvents such as ethanol or acetone, followed by critical point drying or infiltration with embedding resins. See also freeze drying.
  • Embedding, biological specimens – after dehydration, tissue for observation in the transmission electron microscope is embedded so it can be sectioned ready for viewing. To do this the tissue is passed through a 'transition solvent' such as propylene oxide (epoxypropane) or acetone and then infiltrated with an epoxy resin such as Araldite, Epon, or Durcupan; tissues may also be embedded directly in water-miscible acrylic resin. After the resin has been polymerized (hardened) the sample is sectioned by ultramicrotomy and stained.
  • Embedding, materials – after embedding in resin, the specimen is usually ground and polished to a mirror-like finish using ultra-fine abrasives.
  • Freeze-fracture or freeze-etch – a preparation method particularly useful for examining lipid membranes and their incorporated proteins in "face on" view.
    Freeze-fracturing helps to peel open membranes to allow visualization of what is inside
    External face of bakers yeast membrane showing the small holes where proteins are fractured out, sometimes as small ring patterns.
    The fresh tissue or cell suspension is frozen rapidly (cryofixation), then fractured by breaking (or by using a microtome) while maintained at liquid nitrogen temperature. The cold fractured surface (sometimes "etched" by increasing the temperature to about −100 °C for several minutes to let some ice sublime) is then shadowed with evaporated platinum or gold at an average angle of 45° in a high vacuum evaporator. The second coat of carbon, evaporated perpendicular to the average surface plane is often performed to improve the stability of the replica coating. The specimen is returned to room temperature and pressure, then the extremely fragile "pre-shadowed" metal replica of the fracture surface is released from the underlying biological material by careful chemical digestion with acids, hypochlorite solution or SDS detergent. The still-floating replica is thoroughly washed free from residual chemicals, carefully fished up on fine grids, dried then viewed in the TEM.
  • Freeze-fracture replica immunogold labeling (FRIL) – the freeze-fracture method has been modified to allow the identification of the components of the fracture face by immunogold labeling. Instead of removing all the underlying tissue of the thawed replica as the final step before viewing in the microscope the tissue thickness is minimized during or after the fracture process. The thin layer of tissue remains bound to the metal replica so it can be immunogold labeled with antibodies to the structures of choice. The thin layer of the original specimen on the replica with gold attached allows the identification of structures in the fracture plane. There are also related methods which label the surface of etched cells and other replica labeling variations.
  • Ion beam milling – thins samples until they are transparent to electrons by firing ions (typically argon) at the surface from an angle and sputtering material from the surface. A subclass of this is focused ion beam milling, where gallium ions are used to produce an electron transparent membrane or 'lamella' in a specific region of the sample, for example through a device within a microprocessor or a focused ion beam SEM. Ion beam milling may also be used for cross-section polishing prior to analysis of materials that are difficult to prepare using mechanical polishing.
  • Negative stain – suspensions containing nanoparticles or fine biological material (such as viruses and bacteria) are briefly mixed with a dilute solution of an electron-opaque solution such as ammonium molybdate, uranyl acetate (or formate), or phosphotungstic acid. This mixture is applied to an EM grid, pre-coated with a plastic film such as formvar, blotted, then allowed to dry. Viewing of this preparation in the TEM should be carried out without delay for best results. The method is important in microbiology for fast but crude morphological identification, but can also be used as the basis for high-resolution 3D reconstruction using EM tomography methodology when carbon films are used for support.
  • Sectioning – produces thin slices of the specimen, semitransparent to electrons. These can be cut using ultramicrotomy on an ultramicrotome with a glass or diamond knife to produce ultra-thin sections about 60–90 nm thick. Disposable glass knives are also used because they can be made in the lab and are much cheaper. Sections can also be created in situ by milling in a focused ion beam SEM, where the section is known as a lamella.
  • Staining – uses heavy metals such as lead, uranium or tungsten to scatter imaging electrons and thus give contrast between different structures, since many (especially biological) materials are nearly "transparent" to electrons (weak phase objects). In biology, specimens can be stained "en bloc" before embedding and also later after sectioning. Typically thin sections are stained for several minutes with an aqueous or alcoholic solution of uranyl acetate followed by aqueous lead citrate.

EM workflows

In their most common configurations, electron microscopes produce images with a single brightness value per pixel, with the results usually rendered in greyscale. However, often these images are then colourized through the use of feature-detection software, or simply by hand-editing using a graphics editor. This may be done to clarify structure or for aesthetic effect and generally does not add new information about the specimen.

Electron microscopes are now frequently used in more complex workflows, with each workflow typically using multiple technologies to enable more complex and/or more quantitative analyses of a sample. A few examples are outlined below, but this should not be considered an exhaustive list. The choice of workflow will be highly dependent on the application and the requirements of the corresponding scientific questions, such as resolution, volume, nature of the target molecule, etc.

For example, images from light and electron microscopy of the same region of a sample can be overlaid to correlate the data from the two modalities. This is commonly used to provide higher resolution contextual EM information about a fluorescently labelled structure. This correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) is one of a range of correlative workflows now available. Another example is high resolution mass spectrometry (ion microscopy), which has been used to provide correlative information about subcellular antibiotic localisation, data that would be difficult to obtain by other means.

The initial role of electron microscopes in imaging two-dimensional slices (TEM) or a specimen surface (SEM with secondary electrons) has also increasingly expanded into the depth of samples. An early example of these ‘volume EM’ workflows was simply to stack TEM images of serial sections cut through a sample. The next development was virtual reconstruction of a thick section (200-500 nm) volume by backprojection of a set of images taken at different tilt angles - TEM tomography.

Serial imaging for volume EM

To acquire volume EM datasets of larger depths than TEM tomography (micrometers or millimeters in the z axis), a series of images taken through the sample depth can be used. For example, ribbons of serial sections can be imaged in a TEM as described above, and when thicker sections are used, serial TEM tomography can be used to increase the z-resolution. More recently, back scattered electron (BSE) images can be acquired of a larger series of sections collected on silicon wafers, known as SEM array tomography. An alternative approach is to use BSE SEM to image the block surface instead of the section, after each section has been removed. By this method, an ultramicrotome installed in an SEM chamber can increase automation of the workflow; the specimen block is loaded in the chamber and the system programmed to continuously cut and image through the sample. This is known as serial block face SEM. A related method uses focused ion beam milling instead of an ultramicrotome to remove sections. In these serial imaging methods, the output is essentially a sequence of images through a specimen block that can be digitally aligned in sequence and thus reconstructed into a volume EM dataset. The increased volume available in these methods has expanded the capability of electron microscopy to address new questions, such as mapping neural connectivity in the brain, and membrane contact sites between organelles.

Disadvantages

JEOL transmission and scanning electron microscope made in the mid-1970s

Electron microscopes are expensive to build and maintain. Microscopes designed to achieve high resolutions must be housed in stable buildings (sometimes underground) with special services such as magnetic field canceling systems.

The samples largely have to be viewed in vacuum, as the molecules that make up air would scatter the electrons. An exception is liquid-phase electron microscopy using either a closed liquid cell or an environmental chamber, for example, in the environmental scanning electron microscope, which allows hydrated samples to be viewed in a low-pressure (up to 20 Torr or 2.7 kPa) wet environment. Various techniques for in situ electron microscopy of gaseous samples have been developed.

Scanning electron microscopes operating in conventional high-vacuum mode usually image conductive specimens; therefore non-conductive materials require conductive coating (gold/palladium alloy, carbon, osmium, etc.). The low-voltage mode of modern microscopes makes possible the observation of non-conductive specimens without coating. Non-conductive materials can be imaged also by a variable pressure (or environmental) scanning electron microscope.

Small, stable specimens such as carbon nanotubes, diatom frustules and small mineral crystals (asbestos fibres, for example) require no special treatment before being examined in the electron microscope. Samples of hydrated materials, including almost all biological specimens, have to be prepared in various ways to stabilize them, reduce their thickness (ultrathin sectioning) and increase their electron optical contrast (staining). These processes may result in artifacts, but these can usually be identified by comparing the results obtained by using radically different specimen preparation methods. Since the 1980s, analysis of cryofixed, vitrified specimens has also become increasingly used by scientists, further confirming the validity of this technique.

See also

References

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