Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an electron-beam–based imaging method in which a focused, raster-scanned electron probe interacts with a specimen surface to generate signals such as secondary electrons, backscattered electrons, and characteristic X-rays. These signals are collected by detectors to produce high-resolution, high-depth-of-field images and, with appropriate detectors, compositional or crystallographic information. SEM typically operates under high vacuum, though variable-pressure and environmental modes allow imaging of non-conductive or hydrated samples with reduced preparation. Common applications include surface morphology characterization, microstructural analysis, failure analysis, and correlative studies with techniques like EDS/EBSD for integrated materials and biological research.
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed an ultrafast time-resolved scanning electron microscopy instrument by integrating a scanning electron microscope with a femtosecond laser. This innovative system facilitates ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 18, 2024
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An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) successfully conducted in-situ studies with a plasma generated inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This marks the first time live SEM ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 28, 2024
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What looks like an aerial shot of an alien landscape is actually a scanning electron microscope view of a test glass surface, acquired as part of a project to improve the lifetime of spaceborne atomic clocks, found at the ...
General Physics
Jan 11, 2024
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Computer chip designers, materials scientists, biologists and other scientists now have an unprecedented level of access to the world of nanoscale materials thanks to 3D visualization software that connects directly to an ...
Nanomaterials
Aug 18, 2022
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With highly specialized instruments, we can see materials on the nanoscale—but we can't see what many of them do. That limits researchers' ability to develop new therapeutics and new technologies that take advantage of their ...
Nanophysics
Feb 17, 2022
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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) offers a method for label-free imaging of nanoscale biomolecular dynamics to solve biological questions that cannot be addressed via other bioimaging methods including fluorescence and scanning ...
At extremely small scales, looks can be deceiving. While at first glance you might see lily pads floating on a tranquil pond, this image is actually a clever adaptation of a snapshot taken on a scanning electron microscope.
Bio & Medicine
Jan 5, 2022
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