The Basic Principle of the Electron Microscope
The Basic Principle of the Electron Microscope
The electron microscope consists of three parts: the barrel, vacuum device, and power cabinet. The electron microscope is a significant scientific and technological invention of the 20th century, just as the invention of the transistor revolutionized the semiconductor industry. The electron microscope also greatly promoted the development of life sciences, and the two scientists who invented the scanning tunneling electron microscope were awarded the Nobel Prize. So what is the basic principle of the electron microscope? Let's introduce it below.
The basic principle of the electron microscope is based on electron optics. It uses an electron beam and electron lenses instead of a light beam and optical lenses to image the fine structure of matter at very high magnifications. The application of electron microscopy technology is based on the foundation of optical microscopy. The resolution of optical microscopy is 0.2μm, and the resolution of transmission electron microscopy is 0.2nm, which means that transmission electron microscopy magnifies 1000 times on the basis of optical microscopy.
In recent years, the research and manufacturing of electron microscopes have made significant progress. On the one hand, the resolution of electron microscopes continues to improve, and the point resolution of transmission electron microscopy has reached 0.2-0.3nm, and the lattice resolution has reached around 0.1nm. Through electron microscopy, people can now directly observe atomic images. On the other hand, in addition to transmission electron microscopy, various types of electron microscopes such as scanning electron microscopy and analytical electron microscopy have also been developed.
In summary, the electron microscope has become an essential tool in modern science and technology after more than fifty years of development. The application of electron microscopy technology is based on the foundation of optical microscopy, with a resolution of 0.2μm for optical microscopy and 0.2nm for transmission electron microscopy, which means that transmission electron microscopy magnifies 1000 times compared to the basic principles of optical microscopy.