Electron Microscopy Science

Most students use a light microscope in school. The maximum resolution of a light microscope is 0.0002 mm or 200 nanometers or 0.2 microns. Today, through electron microscopy science, scientists have been able to achieve a maximum resolution of 0.0000001 mm or about 0.1 nanometers or 0.0001 microns through use of the Titan 80-300 super scanning transmission electron microscope (SuperSTEM).

Some important aspects of electron microscopy science are covered in this article.

Electron microscopy is the science of use of electrons to examine a specimen at a very high resolution, using a microscope. The wavelength of electrons is 100,000 times smaller than that of light, so the resolution that they can provide is much more. Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska, who invented the electron microscope, are German scientists. They are jointly credited with the invention of the electron microscope in 1931.

While light is used in an optical microscope to illuminate and examine the surface of an object or material, a beam of electrons is used in an electron microscope to do so as well as to examine even the internal structure of an object or material.

In an electron microscope, a focused beam of electrons is made to impinge on the mounted specimen and the response provided by the scattering of electrons is measured. This helps scientists achieve a resolution in the vicinity of 1 Angstrom unit. An Angstrom unit is now defined as exactly 0.0001 microns. An electron source is used to generate electrons in the electron microscope.

The two main types of electron microscopes are the scanning electron microscope and the transmission electron microscope.

High resolution images of a specimen are produced through electron microscopy. Specialists are needed for the interpretation of these images. Specimen preparation is a very important part of electron microscopy. Wet specimens cannot be used. They normally need to be properly dried before use. Specimens are stabilized through use of a special sticky pad.

To prevent charge build-up on specimens, they are coated with a thin gold (or carbon for sensitive specimens) coating that helps conduct charge. In case element analysis is required, sectioning and polishing of specimens is necessary.

Air is removed from the entire unit in which the specimen is kept. It is kept under vacuum as air can scatter electrons, before they impinge on the specimen.

Uses of electron microscopy are in various fields. It can be used in the detection of cancer and is used in Cytology, Morphology, Biotechnology, Genetic engineering and in development of nanotechnology based silicon chips. It is also used in Histology.

Through this article, you may have increased your knowledge on some important aspects about electron microscopy science. For more information and other aspects, you can search online.