TRANSMISSION

ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE

By: KARAN SHAH (394)

ME (Industrial Metallurgy)
 CONTENTS
 Introduction.
 Specimen Interactions and utilization.
 Working principle .
 Construction of TEM.
 Example of results in TEM.
 Advanced techniques of TEM.
 Advantage.
 Disadvantage.
 References.
 Introduction
• Electron Microscopes are scientific instruments that use a
beam of highly energetic electrons to examine objects on a
very fine scale.
• The main advantage of Electron Microscopy is the unusual
short wavelength of the electron beams, substituted for light
energy.
• The wavelengths of about 0.005 nm increases the resolving
power of the instrument to fractions
There are two main electron microscopy techniques:
• Transmission electron microscopy, which essentially looks
through a thin slice of a specimen.
• Scanning electron microscopy, which looks at the surface of a
solid object.
 Introduction
• In a conventional transmission electron microscope, a thin
specimen is irradiated with an electron beam of uniform
current density. Electrons are emitted from the electron gun
and illuminate the specimen through a two or three stage
condenser lens system. Objective lens provides the formation
of either image or diffraction pattern of the specimen. The
electron intensity distribution behind the specimen is
magnified with a three or four stage lens system and viewed
on a fluorescent screen. The image can be recorded by direct
exposure of a photographic emulsion or an image plate or
digitally by a CCD camera.
 Introduction
• The acceleration voltage of up to date routine instruments is
120 to 200 kV. Medium-voltage instruments work at 200-500
kV to provide a better transmission and resolution, and in high
voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) the acceleration voltage
is in the range 500 kV to 3 MV. Acceleration voltage
determines the velocity, wavelength and hence the resolution
(ability to distinguish the neighbouring microstructural
features) of the microscope.
 Construction of TEM
• TEM works much like a slide
projector.
• In TEM The "Virtual Source" at
the top represents the electron
Gun producing a stream of
monochromatic electrons.
• This stream is focused to a
small, thin, coherent beam by
the use of condenser lenses 1
and 2. The first lens (usually
controlled by the "spot size
knob") largely determines the
"spot size"; the general size
range of the final spot that
strikes the sample.
 Construction of TEM
• The second lens (usually controlled by the "intensity or
brightness knob" actually changes the size of the spot on the
sample; changing it from a wide dispersed spot to a pinpoint
beam.
• The beam is restricted by the condenser aperture(usually user
selectable), knocking out high angle electrons (those far from
the optic axis, the dotted line down the center)
• The beam strikes the specimen and parts of it are transmitted
• This transmitted portion is focused by the objective lens into
an image
• The image is passed down the column through the projector
lenses, being enlarged all the way.
• The image strikes the phosphor image screen and light is
generated, allowing the user to see the image
Specimen Interactions and
utilization
 Specimen Interactions and
utilization
Unscattered Electrons
• Source
Incident electrons which are transmitted through the thin
specimen without any interaction occurring inside the specimen.
• Utilization
The transmission of unscattered electrons is inversely
proportional to the specimen thickness.
Areas of the specimen that are thicker will have fewer transmitted
unscattered electrons and so will appear darker, conversely the
thinner areas will have more transmitted and thus will appear
lighter.
 Specimen Interactions and utilization
Elasticity Scattered electrons
• Source
Incident electrons that are scattered (deflected from their original
path) by atoms in the specimen in an elastic fashion (no loss of
energy).
These scattered electrons are then transmitted through the
remaining portions of the specimen.
• Utilization
All electrons follow Bragg's Law and thus are scattered according
to Wavelength=2*Space between the atoms in the
specimen*sin(angle of scattering).
All incident electrons have the same energy(thus wavelength) and
enter the specimen normal to its surface
 Specimen Interactions and utilization
• Utilization
These "similar angle" scattered electrons can be collated using
magnetic lenses to form a pattern of spots; each spot
corresponding to a specific atomic spacing (a plane).
This pattern can then yield information about the orientation,
atomic arrangements and phases present in the area being
examined.
 Specimen Interactions and utilization
Inelastically Scattered Electrons
• Source
Incident electrons that interact with specimen atoms in a inelastic
fashion, loosing energy during the interaction. These electrons are
then transmitted trough the rest of the specimen
• Utilization
All electrons follow Bragg's Law and thus are scattered according
to Wavelength=2*Space between the atoms in the specimen*sin
(angle of scattering).
All incident electrons have the same energy(thus wavelength) and
enter the specimen normal to its surface
 Specimen Interactions and utilization
• Inelastically scattered electrons can be utilized two ways
Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy:
The inelastic loss of energy by the incident electrons is
characteristic of the elements that were interacted with.
These energies are unique to each bonding state of each element
and thus can be used to extract both compositional and bonding
(i.e. oxidation state) information on the specimen region being
examined.
Kakuchi Bands: Bands of alternating light and dark lines that are
formed by inelastic scattering interactions that are related to
atomic spacings in the specimen.
These bands can be either measured (their width is inversely
proportional to atomic spacing) or "followed" like a roadmap to
the "real" elasticity scattered electron pattern.
 Working principle
Diffraction
• Use Bragg's law -  = 2d sin 
But much smaller
(0.0251Å at 200kV)
if d = 2.5Å,  = 0.288°
2q ≈ sin 2q = R/L
l = 2d sin q ≈ d (2q)
R/L = l/d
Rd = lL
Where,
L is "camera length"
lL is "camera constant"
 Working principle
Diffraction

Get pattern of spots around transmitted beam from one grain

(crystal)
 Working principle
Diffraction
Symmetry of diffraction pattern reflects
symmetry of crystal around beam direction

Example:
6-fold in hexagonal, 3-fold in cubic

Why does 3-fold diffraction pattern look hexagonal?

Example of results in TEM

M23X6 (figure at
top left).
L21 type b'-
Ni2AlTi (figure
at top center).
L12 type twinned
g'-Ni3Al (figure
at bottom center).
L10 type twinned
NiAl martensite
(figure at bottom
right).
 Example of results in TEM

Precipitation in an Dislocation in super SiO2 precipitate

Al-Cu alloy alloy particle in Si
 Advanced techniques of TEM
• Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction.
• Weak beam dark field imaging.
• Diffuse dark field imaging.
• Electron holography .
• Fresnel contrast imaging.
• Through focal series reconstruction (Fresnel and High
resolution) .
• Tilt series reconstruction .
• Interfacial plasmon imaging.
 Advantages
• Real (Image) and reciprocal space (diffraction pattern)
information can be obtained from same region of sample.
• Chemical information via EDX and EELS possible (with
additional attachments). Energy filtered images possible via
EELS (electron energy loss spectroscopy)filter.
• High resolution imaging possible (via HRLFI & HAADF in
STEM).
• Possible to obtain amplitude and phase contrast images. Many
different kinds of phase contrast images can be obtained.
 Disadvantages
• Low sampling volume and rather slow process of obtaining
information.
• High capital and running cost.
• Special training required for the operation of the equipment.
• Difficult sample preparation. Possibility of electron beam
damage.
• Samples which are not stable in vacuum are difficult to study.
• Magnetic samples require special care.
• Non-conducting samples require gold or carbon coating.
• Difficulty in the interpretation of images. In usual mode of
operation information is integrated along the beam direction.
 Reference
• [Link]
• Transmission Electron Microscopy David B. Williams and C.
Barry Carter Plenum Press, New York.
• LECTURE 5 Principles of Electron Microscopy (SEM and
TEM) SRM university.
Thank You