Describe the main differences between SEM and TEM techniques.

The main difference between SEM and TEM is that SEM creates an image by detecting reflected or
knocked-off electrons while TEM uses transmitted electrons (electrons which are passing through the
sample) to create an image. As a result, TEM offers valuable information on the inner structure of the
sample, such as crystal structure, morphology and stress state information, while SEM provides
information on the sample’s surface and its composition.

Let's start with the similarities. For both techniques, electrons are used in order to acquire images of
samples. Their main components are the same;

 An electron source;
 A series of electromagnetic and electrostatic lenses to control the shape and trajectory of the
electron beam;
 Electron apertures.

 Now over to the differences. SEMs use a specific set of coils to scan the beam in a raster-like
pattern and collect the scattered electrons (read more about the different type of electrons
detected in a SEM).

 The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) principle, as the name suggests, is to use the
transmitted electrons; the electrons which are passing through the sample before they are
collected. As a result, TEM offers invaluable information on the inner structure of the sample,
such as crystal structure, morphology and stress state information, while SEM provides
information on the sample’s surface and its composition.

 Moreover, one of the most pronounced differences between the two methods is the optimal
spatial resolution that they can achieve; SEM resolution is limited to ~0.5 nm, while with the
recent development in aberration-corrected TEMs, images with spatial resolution of even less
than 50 pm have been reported.

TEM
SEM

Type of electrons Scattered, scanning electrons Transmitted electrons

High tension ~1 – 30 kV ~60 – 300 kV

Specimen
Any Typically <150 nm
thickness

Type of info 3D image of surface 2D projection image of inner

 structure

Max. magnification Up to ~1 – 2 million times More than 50 million times

Max. FOV Large Limited

Optimal spatial
~0.5 nm < 50 pm
resolution

Electrons are captured and counted Direct imaging on fluorescent

Image formation
by detectors, image on PC screen screen or PC screen with CCD

Operation Little or no sample preparation, easy Laborious sample preparation,

to use trained users required

Schematically describe the thermionic electron emission and the W airpin

electron gun
Emission of electrons from a material due to heating. Lower temperature and higher current density
is preferred to limit evaporation. Tungsten often used. Many electrons well below melting point.

Most common gun type is a triode. Filament, cap, anode plate. The W filament is a bent wire that is
heated resistively using a

filament-heating power supply. Thermionic emission produces

significant beam current only when the filament is at white heat.

Pg. 35 ish.

Two important parameters for any electron gun are the

amount of current it produces and the stability

of that current, because information from SEM is

recorded as a function of time.

he emission current i

e of a W hairpin inside the gun is typically

about 100 μA, whereas field emitter guns generate emission currents

of 10-30 μA.

However, only a small portion of the gun emission current escape

through the anode aperture and proceeds further down the column as

the beam current i

b.

Schematically describe the field emission guns, and their advantages in a

comparison to the thermionic emitter

These thermionic sources are relatively

inexpensive and
need no special vacuum, but have the
disadvantages of:
low brightness
limited lifetime
large energy spread.
The field emission cathode is usually a

wire of single crystal tungsten fashioned

into a sharp point (100 nm or less in

radius) and spot welded to a tungsten

hairpin.

 When a negative potential is applied to the cathode, the electric field

is concentrated by the tip.

 When the field at the tip reaches a magnitude of about 10 V/nm, the

potential barrier is lowered in height and also becomes so narrow that

electrons can "tunnel" directly through it and leave the cathode.

 Tungsten is usually used as the cathode material because it is strong

enough to withstand the high mechanical stress produced on the tip by

the electric field, but carbon and silicon nanotubes have also

been employed successfully.

A cathode current density JC of as high as 105 A/cm2 may be obtained

from a field emitter as compared with about 3 A/cm2 from a

thermionic source

The CFE relies purely on the high applied field to cause electrons to

tunnel out of the cathode wire and has its name because the magnitude

of emission is independent of the temperature of the tip

The CFE relies purely on the high applied field to cause electrons to

tunnel out of the cathode wire and has its name because the magnitude

of emission is independent of the temperature of the tip

The advantages of CFE are:

 the virtual source size of 3-5 nm, which means that

little demagnification is required to get a 1 nm

diameter probe,

 the very small energy spread, which enhances

operation at low accelerating voltages, and

 the fact that the tip lasts years, provided that the

electron-optical column is kept intact, clean, and

aligned, which aids reliability and reproducibility

systems fully computerized,

 the high performance, and

 the long-term reliability of such sources

have made field emitters the preferred choice for many users.

Without exception all field emission systems are fully

computerized, requiring only that the operator set an accelerating

voltage and emission current.

List and describe all the different “types of current” we can find
inside the optical column
The total current emitted from the filament is called the emission

current i

e, and the portion of electron current that leaves the

gun through the hole in the anode is called the beam current ib.
At each lens and aperture along the column the beam current

becomes smaller and is several orders of magnitude smaller when

it is measured at the specimen as the probe current ip.