Transmission Electron Microscopy

A beam of electrons is transmitted through a material to create a picture in the microscopy method known as transmission electron microscopy TEM. Most frequently, the specimen is a suspension on a grid or an ultrathin slice that is less than 100 nm thick. As the beam passes through the specimen, a picture is created as a result of the electrons' interactions with it. An imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, a sheet of photographic film, or a sensor like a scintillator linked to a charge-coupled device, is then used to magnify and focus the picture. Because electrons have a shorter de Bie wavelength than light, transmission electron microscopes can image at a substantially better resolution than light microscopes. Since a single column of atoms is thousands of times smaller than a resolvable object observed in a light microscope, this allows the equipment to record extremely fine detail. In the physical, chemical, and biological sciences, transmission electron microscopy is a crucial analytical technique. TEMs are useful in the study of cancer, viruses, and materials, as well as in the study of pollution, nanotechnology, and semiconductors, as well as in other disciplines including palaeontology and palynology.