Transmission electron microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) forms images by passing an electron beam through a thin specimen. Its high spatial resolution reveals internal structures down to atomic scales.

Electron diffraction: The scattering of electrons by matter into patterns that reveal atomic arrangement and other structural information. Scattered electrons encode crystal structure and can contribute to image contrast.
Electron: A negatively charged elementary particle that contributes to atoms and carries electric current. TEM uses electrons as the imaging radiation.
Cryogenic electron microscopy: Electron microscopy of specimens kept at cryogenic temperatures, often used to determine biomolecular structures. Cryo-EM commonly uses TEM to image vitrified biological particles.
Ernst Ruska: A German physicist who developed the first electron microscope with Max Knoll and later advanced electron optics. His instrument-building work established the practical basis of TEM.
Electron lens: An electromagnetic or electrostatic field that focuses and directs an electron beam. Electron lenses form and magnify the image instead of glass lenses.
Electron gun: A device that produces a beam of electrons, commonly by thermionic emission or field emission. The gun supplies the beam that illuminates the specimen.
Electron tomography: A method that reconstructs a three-dimensional volume from electron microscope images taken at multiple tilt angles. Tilt-series TEM images reveal three-dimensional cellular or material structure.
Max Knoll: A German electrical engineer and physicist who co-developed the first electron microscope with Ernst Ruska. His collaboration with Ruska produced the first electron microscope in 1931.
Electron scattering: The deflection or energy change of electrons as they interact with matter. Scattering within the specimen produces contrast and limits useful specimen thickness.
Vacuum: A space containing gas at a pressure far below atmospheric pressure. Vacuum prevents air molecules from scattering the electron beam.

Linked from 23 pages