Low Voltage (LV) Scanning Electron Microscopy
Publication Number: 5991-0736EN
Publication Date: 2014.08.02
Language: English
Application Notes

Low Voltage (LV) Scanning Electron Microscopy

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Why do we need a low voltage scanning electron microscope? The simple answer is that “higher voltage” scanning electron microscopes cannot answer adequately some practical issues associated with imaging of certain types of materials. The latter include non-conducting samples whether organic (such as polymers, enzymes, cells, membranes, etc.) or inorganic (such as ceramics, pigments, minerals, composite materials, etc.). These materials usually manifest one or both of these particular problems: (i) charging effect due to accumulation of electrons on the scanned area of sample; (ii) local radiation damage of the sample, induced by energetic electrons through different mechanisms such as decomposition, sputtering, sublimation, ionization, diffusion, or transformation. These effects lie beyond the scope of this note.