2. Electron Microscope
Electron Microscopes are scientific instruments that use a
beam of highly energetic electrons to examine objects on a
very fine scale.
This examination can yield information about the:
• Topography
• Morphology
• Composition
• Crystallographic information
3.
4.
5. Mainly 2 types:
• Transmission Electron Microscope
(TEM) - allows one the study of the inner
structures.
• Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) -
used to visualize the surface of objects.
6. Differences between SEM and TEM
TEM SEM
Electron beam passes through thin
sample.
Electron beam scans over surface of
sample.
Specially prepared thin samples are
supported on TEM grids.
Sample can be any thickness and is
mounted on an aluminum stub.
Specimen stage halfway down
column.
Specimen stage in the chamber at the
bottom of the column.
Image shown on fluorescent screen. Image shown on TV monitor.
Image is a two dimensional
projection of the sample.
Image is of the surface of the sample
7. Compound microscope image TEM image
Budding yeast cell
E. coli bacteria
Compound microscope image TEM image SEM image
SEM image
9. History of sem
First SEM – debuted in 1938 by
Manfred Von Ardenne
In 1965, Cambridge Scientific
Instrument (UK) & JOEL (Japan)
first commercialized SEM
individually.
10.
11. SEM
Produces images of a sample by
scanning it with a focused beam
of electrons in a raster scan pattern
Electrons interact with atoms --
produces various signals that contain
information about the sample's
surface topography and composition.
12.
13.
14.
15. 1.Electron cannon.
2. Electro-magnetic
lenses to focus the
electron beam .3. Vacuum pumps
system
.
4.Opening to insert the
object into the high-
vacuum observation
chamber.
5. Operation panel with
focus, alignment and
magnification tools and
a joystick for positioning
of the sample.
6. Screen for menu
and image display
7.Cryo-unit to prepare
frozen material before
insertion in the
observation chamber
in Cryo-SEM mode
PARTS OF SEM
16. Electron gun consisting of
cathode and anode.
The condenser lens
controls the amount of
electrons travelling down
the column
The objective lens focuses
the beam into a spot on
the sample.
Deflection coil helps to
deflect the electron beam.
SED attracts the
secondary electrons.
Additional sensors detect
backscattered electrons
and X-rays.
17. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Appropriate size samples --- fit in the
specimen chamber
Mounted rigidly on a specimen holder--
specimen stub
aluminiumstubs
18. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
For imaging in the SEM, specimens must
be
Electrically conductive
Electrically grounded
19. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
1. Cleaning the surface of the specimen
2. Stabilizing the specimen
3. Rinsing the specimen
4. Dehydrating the specimen
5. Drying the specimen
6. Mounting the specimen
7. Coating the specimen
20. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Cleaning the surface of the specimen
Very important
Surface contains many unwanted deposits,
such as dust, mud, soil etc
21. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Stabilizing the specimen
Hard, dry materials such as wood, bone, feathers,
dried insects, or shells can be examined with little
further treatment, but living cells and tissues and
whole, soft-bodied organisms usually require
chemical fixation to preserve and stabilize their
structure.
Stabilization is typically done with fixatives.
22. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Fixation -- performed by incubation in a
solution of a buffered chemical fixative, such
as glutaraldehyde, sometimes in combination
with formaldehyde and other fixatives.
Fixatives that can be used are:-
1. Aldehydes.
2. Osmium tetroxide.
3. Tanic acid.
4. Thiocarbohydrazides.
24. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Dehydrating the specimen
Water must be removed
Air-drying causes collapse and shrinkage, this
is commonly achieved by replacement
of water in the cells with organic solvents such
as ethanol or acetone.
Dehydration -- performed with a graded
series of ethanol or acetone.
25. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Drying the specimen
Specimen should be completely dry
Otherwise the sample will be destroyed
26. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Mounting the specimen
Specimen has to be mounted on the holder
Mounted rigidly on a specimen holder called a
specimen stub
Dry specimen -- mounted on a specimen stub
using an adhesive such as epoxy resin or
electrically conductive double-sided adhesive
tape.
29. This charge-up phenomenon
can be prevented by coating
the non-conductor sample with
metal (conductor).
30. Sample coating is
intended to prevent
charge-up phenomenon
by allowing the charge
on the specimen surface
go to ground through
the coated conductive
film.
31. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Coating the specimen
To increase the conductivity of the
specimen and to prevent the high
voltage charge on the specimen
Coated with thin layer i.e., 20nm-30nm
of conductive metal.
All metals are conductive and require no
preparation before being used.
32. SEM SAMPLE PREPARATION
Coating the specimen
Non-metals need to be made conductive
Done by using a device called a "sputter
coater.”
Conductive materials
Gold
Gold-palladium Alloy
Platinum
Osmium
Iridium
Tungsten
Chromium
Graphite
35. Electron beam-sample interactions
The incident electron beam is scattered in the sample,
both elastically and inelastically
This gives rise to various signals that we can detect
Interaction volume increases with increasing
acceleration voltage and decreases with increasing
atomic number
Images: Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts
36. So now we have a beam that is
scanning across the sample surface and
this beam is synched to the beam of
a CRT.
42. • A secondary electron detector attracts the scattered electrons and,
depending on the number of electrons that reach the detector,
registers different levels of brightness on a monitor.
43.
44. A low atomic weight
area of the sample will
not emit as many
backscattered
electrons as a high
atomic weight area of
the sample.
In reality, the image
is mapping out the
density of the sample
surface.
45.
46. How do we get an image?
156 electrons!
Image
Detector
Electron gun
288 electrons!
49. This form of image processing is only in gray
scale which is why SEM images are always in
black and white.
These images can be colorized through the use
of feature-detection software, or simply by hand
editing using a hand graphic editor.
This is usually for aesthetic effects, for clarifying
structure, or for adding a realistic effect to the
sample.
51. So how does a SEM change the magnification of an image?
By reducing the size of the area scanned
by the scan coils, the SEM changes the
magnification of the image.
52. Vacuum Chamber
SEMs require a vacuum to operate.
Without a vacuum, the electron beam generated by the
electron gun would encounter constant interference from
air particles in the atmosphere.
Not only would these particles block the path of the
electron beam, they would also be knocked out of the air
and onto the specimen, which would distort the surface
of the specimen.
53. BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF
SEM
Virology - for investigations of virus structure
Cryo-electron microscopy – Images can be made of the
surface of frozen materials.
3D tissue imaging -
– Helps to know how cells are organized in a 3D network
– Their organization determines how cells can interact.
Forensics - SEM reveals the presence of materials on
evidences that is otherwise undetectable
SEM renders detailed 3-D images
– extremely small microorganisms
– anatomical pictures of insect, worm, spore, or other
organic structures
54. SEM Advantages
Gives detailed 3D and topographical imaging
and the versatile information garnered from
different detectors.
Works very fast.
Modern SEMs allow for the generation of
data in digital form.
Most SEM samples require minimal
preparation actions.
55. SEM Disadvantages
SEMs are expensive and large.
Special training is required to operate an
SEM.
Preparation of samples can result in
artifacts.
Limited to solid samples.
Carry a small risk of radiation exposure
associated with the electrons that scatter
from beneath the sample surface.
The development of a SEM began a few years after the invention of a TEM by Ruska in 1931, but the commercialization of the SEM required about 30 yrs.
M. von Ardenne's first SEM
SEM is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning it with a focused beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern.
The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that contain information about the sample's surface topography and composition.
All samples must be of an appropriate size to fit in the specimen chamber and are generally mounted rigidly on a specimen holder called a specimen stub
For conventional imaging in the SEM, specimens must be electrically conductive, at least at the surface, and electrically grounded to prevent the accumulation of electrostatic charge at the surface.
The proper cleaning of the surface of the specimen is important, because the surface contains many unwanted deposits, such as dust, mud, soil etc. depending upon the source of the sample/specimen.
Hard, dry materials such as wood, bone, feathers, dried insects, or shells can be examined with little further treatment, but living cells and tissues and whole, soft-bodied organisms usually require chemical fixation to preserve and stabilize their structure.
Stabilization is typically done with fixatives.
Fixation cab be achieved by :-
Perfusion or microinjection.
Immersions.
With vapours.
Fixation is usually performed by incubation in a solution of a buffered chemical fixative, such as glutaraldehyde, sometimes in combination with formaldehyde and other fixatives.
Fixatives that can be used are:-
Aldehydes.
Osmium tetroxide.
Tanic acid.
Thiocarbohydrazides.
After the fixation step, the sample must be rinsed in order to remove excessive fixatives.
All water must be removed from the samples because the water would vaporize in the vacuum.
The fixed tissue is then dehydrated. Because air-drying causes collapse and shrinkage, this is commonly achieved by replacement of water in the cells with organic solvents such as ethanol or acetone.
Dehydration is performed with a graded series of ethanol or acetone.
For SEM, a specimen is normally required to be completely dry, since the specimen chamber is at high vacuum.
Otherwise the sample will be destroyed in the electron microscope chamber.
After the specimen has been cleaned, fixed, rinsed, dehydrated and dried, using an appropriate protocol, specimen has to be mounted on the holder that can be inserted into the scanning electron microscope.
All samples must also be of an appropriate size to fit in the specimen chamber and are generally mounted rigidly on a specimen holder called a specimen stub.
The dry specimen is usually mounted on a specimen stub using an adhesive such as epoxy resin or electrically conductive double-sided adhesive tape.
Coating the specimen.
The idea of coating the specimen is to increase the conductivity of the specimen and to prevent the high voltage charge on the specimen by conducting charge to the ground.
These specimen are coated with thin layer ie.20nm-30nm of conductive metal.
All metals are conductive and require no preparation before being used.
All non-metals need to be made conductive by covering the sample with a thin layer of conductive material.
This is done by using a device called a "sputter coater.”
Conductive materials in current used for specimen coating includes gold, gold-palladium alloy , platinum, osmium , iridium, tungsten, chromium and graphite.
Specimen interaction is what makes Electron Microscopy possible.
The energetic electrons in the microscope strike the sample and various reactions can occur as shown below.
The reactions noted on the top side of the diagram are utilized when examining thick or bulk specimens (SEM) while the reactions on the bottom side are those examined in thin or foil specimens (TEM).
In TEM electrons have very high energy of about 100s of KeV. They are moving so fast that sometimes they just go through the matter without even noticing and they don’t interact. Some of them which are very important for generating the image, go through and bounce of the nucleaus of the atom and bent and this is the process of elastic scattering, in which the electrons don’t change energy, don’t change speed but change direction and this is what we call a good scattering and is used to generate the image in TEM.
Unfortunately there is another process of scattering, the bad scattering and these are the electrons in your primary beam generated in the microscope that goes through the atom and interacts with the electrons in the sample and in doing so they loss some energy of their own and they pass it to the sample. These inelastically scattered electrons are going to contribute in the noising of the image and at the same time really damaging the sample.
After absorbance of energythey give their own electrons
SE are shallow but very imp for providing surface features
Are used to determine crystal structures and orientations of minerals
For elemental analysis
It gives detailed 3D and topographical imaging and the versatile information garnered from different detectors.
This instrument works very fast.
Modern SEMs allow for the generation of data in digital form.
Most SEM samples require minimal preparation actions.
SEMs are expensive and large.
Special training is required to operate an SEM.
The preparation of samples can result in artifacts.
SEMs are limited to solid samples.
SEMs carry a small risk of radiation exposure associated with the electrons that scatter from beneath the sample surface.