Transmission electron microscopy overview

The history of EM (for an overview see table Bl.17,1) can be interpreted as the development of two concepts the electron beam either illuminates a large area of tire sample ( flood-beam illumination , as in the typical transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging using a spread-out beam) or just one point, i.e. focused to the smallest spot possible, which is then scaimed across the sample (scaiming transmission electron microscopy (STEM) or scaiming electron microscopy (SEM)). In both situations the electron beam is considered as a matter wave interacting with the sample and microscopy simply studies the interaction of the scattered electrons. 

In this overview, we will first discuss how transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques can be used to determine the presence or absence of intergranular amorphous phases at interphase boundaries in structural... 

To better understand the structure, function, and dynamics of the endogenous lipid matrix of the stratum corneum intercellular space some general principles of lipid phase behavior, dynamics, and structural organization may represent a useful starting point. Further follows a short overview of some basic physico-chemical principles that may be of relevance for stratum corneum lipid research, followed by a presentation of the new technique cryo-transmission electron microscopy of fully hydrated vitreous skin sections and how this technique recently has been applied to the study of the structural organization and formation of the lipid matrix of the stratum corneum intercellular space. 

The study of chondrite matrices is both time-consuming and challenging, principally because of the fine-grained characteristics of the material. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been the analytical technique of choice, because it provides textural and mineralogical information from the micron down to the nanoscale. Here, we briefly overview the main textural and mineralogical characteristics of matrices in very un-equilibrated chondrites, focusing principally on the carbonaceous chondrites. 

Figure 5.11. Transmission electron microscopy was used to image the sheath of trilobal carpet fibers by Wood [52], at 200 kV. The overview of the fiber sections (A) shows the trilobal shape and (B) shows the sheath at the fiber surface. (From Wood [52] unpublished.)...

Figure 8.2 (a,c) Overview transmission electron microscopy images and (b) high-resolution micrograph of crystalline Zr02 nanoparticles obtained via the hydrothermal treatment of zirconium salts [46]. (Reproduced from Ref [45], with kind permission of the American Ceramic Society). 

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