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1- Electron microscope

An electron microscope (EM) uses accelerated electrons instead of light to achieve higher resolution images, allowing detailed visualization of biological and non-biological specimens. There are two main types of electron microscopes: Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM), which provide internal structure images, and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM), which focus on surface details. EM has significantly higher resolving power compared to light microscopes, with resolutions as low as 0.5 nm and magnifications up to 10 million times.

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20 views6 pages

1- Electron microscope

An electron microscope (EM) uses accelerated electrons instead of light to achieve higher resolution images, allowing detailed visualization of biological and non-biological specimens. There are two main types of electron microscopes: Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM), which provide internal structure images, and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM), which focus on surface details. EM has significantly higher resolving power compared to light microscopes, with resolutions as low as 0.5 nm and magnifications up to 10 million times.

Uploaded by

mohamed528mostafa
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Electron microscope

Electron microscope (EM):


Is a microscope that uses a beam of
accelerated electrons as a source of illumination rather than
a beam of light.

Principle of electron microscope:


Electrons are small particles (like photons of light) which
act as waves.
A beam of electrons passes through the specimen then into
the lenses (that magnify the image).
The image results from scattering of electrons by atoms in
the specimen.

Electron microscopes have a higher resolving power


than light microscopes and can reveal the structure of
smaller objects. This is due to its short wavelength (which
can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible
light photons, and this allows electron microscope to
produce higher resolution images).

N.B. the smaller the resolution value, the higher the


resolving power of the microscope and the better the clarity
and detail of the image.

The main idea and functions of electron microscope


Electron microscopy (EM) is a technique for obtaining high
resolution images of biological and non-biological
specimens.
It is used in biomedical research to investigate not just the
whole cells, but also the detailed (subcellular) structure of
tissues, cells, organelles and macromolecular complexes.
The original idea of the electron microscope is to use a
high voltage electron beam to illuminate the specimen and
create an image.

The ancillary (support) techniques used with electron


microscope in order to obtain excellent results are
Thin sections, immune-labeling and negative stain.

The main differences between light microscope and


electron microscope as regards resolution (is the smallest
distance by which two points can be separated and still be
distinguished as separate objects) and magnifications ( is
a measure of how much larger a microscope causes object
to appear)

- Light microscope: 200 nm resolution and 2000


magnifications (i.e. magnify up to about 400times actual
size. So something that was 1 mm wide in real life would
be 400mm wide in the microscope image).

- Electron microscope: 0.5 nm resolution and 10,000,000


magnifications
The difference between light microscope and electron
microscope as regards lens system
Use of electron microscope: Electron microscope is used
to visualize:
-Ultrastructure of microorganisms and cells
-Ultrastructure of metals and crystals.

The electron micrographs


-Electron micrographs are obtained by using specialized
digital cameras and frame grabbers.

The steps and function of each component in electron


microscope:
-Electron gun: Release electrons (the source of electrons).
-Anode : Accelerates and focus the electrons into the
electromagnetic lens.
-Electromagnetic lenses: Focus the electrons to obtain a
sharp image (not blurred image). They are 3 types:
condenser, objective and projector.
-Scanning coil: Sending image to TV scanner.
-Electron detector: Sending image to TV scanner.
-Stage: Sending image to TV scanner.
Types of electron microscopes and their criteria

There are 2 main types :- Transmission and Scanning

A-Transmission electron microscope: The original form


of the electron microscope. The electron beam is
transmitted through the specimen (passes through the slice
rather than skimming over its surface) that is in part
transparent to electrons and in part scatters them out of the
beam. When it emerges from the specimen, the electron
beam carries information about the structure of the
specimen that is magnified by the objective lens system of
the microscope. Transmission electron microscopes (TEM)
generate high resolution cross-sections of objects, so it is
used to obtain detailed images of the internal structures of
cells.

B-Scanning electron microscope: It produces images by


probing the specimen with a focused electron beam
(primary electrons) that is scanned across a rectangular area
of the specimen. The secondary electrons released from
each point in the specimen for a rectangular view.
Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) display enhanced
depth to map the surface of objects in 3D image.

C-Serial section electron microscope: It is a type of


transmission electron microscope that produces many thin
sections in sequences.

D-Reflection electron microscope: An electron beam is


fallen on a surface but instead of using the transmission or
secondary electrons, the beam of electron is reflected in
elastic surface. This type is used to study surface details of
crystalline materials.
E-Scanning transmission electron microscope: Focus a
probe across specimens and various signals are collected
point by point to form an image.

Differences between the idea of function of


Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Scanning
electron microscope (SEM):

The main difference between SEM and TEM is


that SEM creates an image by detecting reflected or
knocked-off electrons, while TEM uses transmitted
electrons (electrons that are passing through the sample) to
create an image.

So, TEM is used to examine the inner structures using


maximum magnification, while SEM is used to examine
the surface structure of the specimen (no need to penetrate
the specimen and no need thin slice).

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