Electron Microscopy

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A major technological advance of the 20th century has been the invention of electron microscopes. These instruments have revolutionized our knowledge about the materials world. Electron Microscopy is a powerful technique, which has increased our knowledge and helped us to design new modern materials which today give us modern transportation, communication and consumer products. Within the electron microscope family there are two main varieties, the scanning and the transmission microscope. The scanning electron microscope enables us to see surface detail and structure, whereas the transmission electron microscope allows us to see inside materials revealing the hidden structure and components that make up that material. Electron microscopy has many diverse applications, however the main areas of use are material, physics, chemistry, biology, and medical sciences.

MCPF has a total six microscopes, each with a specific purpose. A dedicated high-resolution transmission electron microscope enables us to see interfaces and structures at the atomic level, while an analytical transmission electron microscope gives us structure and chemical information down to a few nanometers. Our scanning microscopes provide crystallographic, topography and composition information from the surface of the material, from a few 10’s of nanometers to the macro scale. The microscopes are supported by a wide selection of specialized sample preparation equipment.

Electron Microscope Instrumentation

High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope
Analytical Transmission Electron Microscope, with energy dispersive x-ray micro-analysis
General Purpose Transmission Electron Microscope
High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope
Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope
General Purpose Scanning Electron Microscope

Information Provide by Electron Microscopy

Quantitative elemental analysis
Micro-area analysis
Elemental mapping
Surface topography and structural information
Crystallographic information
Defect imaging
Phase identification

Typical Applications

Semiconductors, ceramics, polymers, biological and composite materials
Phase and structure determination
Observation of phase changes
Imaging semiconductor devices and thin film transistors 
Materials solutions such as fracture analysis of composite materials
Defect and failure analysis
Thin film thickness and composition analysis
Catalysts for environmental solutions such as environmental catalysts
Texture analysis
Particle and Contamination analysis
Dynamic experiments such as stress measurements as a function of temperature