Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) are two very widespread techniques for examining various properties of substances in many fields of study. These fields can range from biology to chemistry to geology and several others (5). Both work by using the electromagnetic properties of the ways that electrons travel and interact with other atoms. Because electrons have a shorter wavelength of motion and a much higher energy than light, electron microscopy has a much larger range of results that can be produced when examining samples as compared to light microscopy (2). Information obtained from the behavior of electrons can give more detail about a sample when recorded with the right equipment and computers.
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If it is not conductive, it is possible that charge will just accumulate on the surface, and poor results will be obtained. It is important though that the coating be very thin, so as not to change the appearance of the actual surface of the material (6). The sample must also be small enough to fit in the area of the microscope where it can be scanned. Sometimes this means only rather small areas or portions of a sample can be analyzed at one time (1). Another important environmental factor to consider when performing SEM is that atoms in the air can affect the electron behavior too, so the analysis must be done in a vacuum. This prevents certain types of samples from being tested, specifically those in a watery environment or those that are unstable (2). Typical SE microscopes cannot analyze a sample through water and cannot be used to analyze liquids, only solids (4). There are specialized types of SEM microscopes to analyze specimens in more difficult environments but they begin to get much more complicated and expensive (4). A problem that may occur with SEM is if negatively charged particles in the material interact with the electron beam, it could affect the testing process and the accuracy of the …show more content…
Swapp, S. (2013). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In Geochemical Instrumentation and Analysis. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu.
2. Temenoff, J. S., Mikos, A. G. (2008). Biomaterials: the intersection of biology and materials science. New Jersey: Pearson. 262-268. Print. 3. Transmission Electron Microscope, The. (2014). In NobelPrize.org. Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/microscopes/tem/ 4. What is scanning electron microscopy? (2013). In Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis
Research Facility. Retrieved from http://www.ammrf.org.au/myscope/sem/background/
5. What is transmission electron microscopy? (2013). In Australian Microscopy and
Microanalysis Research Facility. Retrieved from http://www.ammrf.org.au/myscope/ tem/background/
6. Winey, M., Meehl, J. B., O’Toole, E. T., Giddings, T. H. (2014). Conventional transmission electron microscopy. Molecular Biology of the Cell 25:
If it is not conductive, it is possible that charge will just accumulate on the surface, and poor results will be obtained. It is important though that the coating be very thin, so as not to change the appearance of the actual surface of the material (6). The sample must also be small enough to fit in the area of the microscope where it can be scanned. Sometimes this means only rather small areas or portions of a sample can be analyzed at one time (1). Another important environmental factor to consider when performing SEM is that atoms in the air can affect the electron behavior too, so the analysis must be done in a vacuum. This prevents certain types of samples from being tested, specifically those in a watery environment or those that are unstable (2). Typical SE microscopes cannot analyze a sample through water and cannot be used to analyze liquids, only solids (4). There are specialized types of SEM microscopes to analyze specimens in more difficult environments but they begin to get much more complicated and expensive (4). A problem that may occur with SEM is if negatively charged particles in the material interact with the electron beam, it could affect the testing process and the accuracy of the …show more content…
Swapp, S. (2013). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In Geochemical Instrumentation and Analysis. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu.
2. Temenoff, J. S., Mikos, A. G. (2008). Biomaterials: the intersection of biology and materials science. New Jersey: Pearson. 262-268. Print. 3. Transmission Electron Microscope, The. (2014). In NobelPrize.org. Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/microscopes/tem/ 4. What is scanning electron microscopy? (2013). In Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis
Research Facility. Retrieved from http://www.ammrf.org.au/myscope/sem/background/
5. What is transmission electron microscopy? (2013). In Australian Microscopy and
Microanalysis Research Facility. Retrieved from http://www.ammrf.org.au/myscope/ tem/background/
6. Winey, M., Meehl, J. B., O’Toole, E. T., Giddings, T. H. (2014). Conventional transmission electron microscopy. Molecular Biology of the Cell 25: