Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a high-resolution imaging technique in which an image is produced when a beam of electrons passes through a thin sample. The electron beam is impacted by the thickness/density of a sample, its composition, and in some cases, crystallinity. The electrons transmitted through the specimen subsequently provide contrast in the resulting image. Due to the small wavelength of the transmitted electrons, TEM is capable of unparalleled resolution. Unlike scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which gathers the net intensity of secondary electrons in each point of the scan, TEM resolution is only limited by the wavelength of the individual electron and the quality of the electron optics, meaning that transmission electron microscopes can routinely collect sub-nanometer scale (if not atomic-resolution) images. Choose between (scanning) transmission electron microscopes (S/TEM) and cryo-TEMs to best suit your needs.