Secondary electron imagery

Secondary electron imagery Secondary electrons are produced as a result of collisions between electrons from the incident electron beam and atoms within the specimen. Secondary electrons are captured by a phtotomultiplier and converted to a visible image using a CRT or monitor. Imaging using secondary electrons is often used to analyze topographic features. 

Figure 8.5 Varnish micromorphology form ranges from botryoidal to lamellate (A and C). Two types of imagery show botryoidal varnishes from Kitt Peak, Arizona (A) the topography by secondary electrons (B) the same structures from the bottom upwards with back-scattered electrons - showing the layering structures inside each nudeation centre. (C and D) Scanning electron microscopy images of lamellate clay minerals accreting on rock varnish in Death Valley, California. (C) Individual clay platelets overlap as they cement onto the surface. (D) The clays impose a lamellate structure in cross-section, as first noticed by Potter and Rossman (1977).

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