A typical commercial transmission electron microscope (TEM) costs about $5 for each electron volt (eV) of energy in the beam and, if you add on all available options, it can easily cost up to $10 per eV. As you’ll see, we use beam energies in the range from 100,000 to 400,000 eV, so a TEMis an extremely expensive piece of equipment. Consequently, there have to be very sound scientific reasons for investing such a large amount of money in onemicroscope. In this chapter (which is just a brief overview of many of the concepts that we’ll talk about in detail throughout the book) we start by introducing you to some of the historical development of the TEM because the history is intertwined with some of the reasons why you need to use a TEM to characterize materials. Other reasons for using a TEM have appeared as the instrument continues to develop, to the point where it can seriously be claimed that no other scientific instrument exists which can offer such a broad range of characterization techniques with such high spatial and analytical resolution, coupled with a completely quantitative understanding of the various techniques.

The Transmission Electron Microscope

The speed of post mortem change to the human skeleton and its taphonomic significance

A possible structure of the casein micelle based on high-resolution field-emission scanning electron microscopy.

Self-assembling nanoclusters in living systems: application for integrated photothermal nanodiagnostics and nanotherapy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) have been used to characterize the nanostructure of Au colloid-based surfaces. Because these substrates are composed of particles whose dimensions are known prior to assembly, they are well-suited for a critical comparison of the capabilities and limitations of each nanoscale imaging technique. The three criteria for this comparison, which are relevant to the field of nanoparticle assemblies in general, are (i) accuracy in establishing particle size, particle coverage, and interparticle spacing; (ii) accuracy in delineating surface topography; and (iii) ease of sample preparation, data acquisition, and image analysis. For colloidal Au arrays, TEM gives the most reliable size and spacing information but exhibits the greatest constraints with regard to sample preparation; in contrast, AFM is widely applicable but yields data that are t...

Nanoscale characterization of gold colloid monolayers: a comparison of four techniques.

1. Microscopy with light and electrons 2. The electron microscope family 3. Rudiments of specimen preparation and interpretation of micrographs 4. Specialised techniques in electron microscopy 5. Examples of the use of electron microscopy Appendix 1: Production and measurement of high vacua Appendix 2: Vacuum deposition of thin metallic and carbon films for electron microscopy Appendix 3: X-ray generation and analysis Appendix 4: Electron sources for electron microscopes.

Ian M. Watt

Papers

The Principles and Practice of Electron Microscopy

Specimen preparation for electron microscopy