Why do we use a scanning electron microscope (SEM)? In today’s industrial production and scientific research, SEM is commonly used to observe the surface morphology of objects in order to understand their structure and characteristics, ensuring the quality of production and research. Among various types of microscopes, why do we choose SEM? What are the precautions when using it?
1. Reasons for using SEM:
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a high-resolution microscope that uses electron beams to image the surface of samples. It is well-known in the industry and plays a very important role. It can magnify and observe the surface structure of objects.
Nowadays, scanning electron microscopes are widely used in materials science, biological science, nanotechnology, semiconductor industry and other fields.
At the same time, the desktop scanning electron microscope SEM is also very prominent in terms of features, such as its very small size and easy operation.
Compared with traditional optical microscopes, scanning electron microscopes have the following advantages:
- Higher resolution: Scanning electron microscopes have higher resolution and can obtain clearer images than optical microscopes. It can reveal smaller details and finer structures, even nanoscale structures and surface topography.
- Greater depth: Due to the penetrating ability of the electron beam, scanning electron microscopes can observe deeper sample regions, not just the sample surface. This makes it a powerful tool for studying the internal structure of materials.
- Capable of component analysis: Scanning electron microscopes can also analyze sample components through additional equipment such as energy spectrometers, which is very useful for research in the fields of material science and nanotechnology.
- Can observe non-conductive materials: Due to the excitation of electron beams, traditional optical microscopes cannot observe non-conductive materials, but scanning electron microscopes can overcome this limitation.
- Three-dimensional imaging: SEM can also perform three-dimensional imaging through multi-angle imaging technology, so as to understand the structure and shape of samples more comprehensively.
The use of a scanning electron microscope SEM can allow users to quickly grasp the specific measurement results of the tested items and help users make correct decisions so that corporate scientific research institutions can grasp high-quality conditions.
The scanning electron microscope SEM has many advantages, which can bring convenience to everyone’s measurement and improve the overall detection quality.
When choosing, you must pay attention to the quality of the equipment and after-sales service.
2. Precautions for using scanning electron microscope SEM:
- Place the sample on the stage gasket, and adjust the coarse/fine adjustment knob to adjust the focus until the observed image is clear;
- Adjust the position of the stage, find the field of view to be observed, and analyze;
- When adjusting the focus of the scanning electron microscope, be careful not to let the objective lens touch the sample, so as not to scratch the objective lens;
- Do not switch the objective lens when the center of the round hole of the stage spacer is far away from the center of the objective lens, so as not to scratch the objective lens;
- When making switching actions, the action should be light and in place, and the brightness should be adjusted to the minimum when shutting down;
- Do not adjust the brightness suddenly and suddenly, and do not make it too bright, which will affect the service life of the bulb and also damage the eyesight;
- Non-professionals should not adjust the microscope lighting system (filament position lamp), so as not to affect the imaging quality;
- Pay attention to high temperature when replacing the halogen lamp to avoid burns; be careful not to directly touch the glass body of the halogen lamp with your hands;
- Turn off the power in time when the equipment is not in use.
Summary
Before using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to measure the sample, it must be vacuumed. The scanning electron microscope scans the surface of the object to form an image.
The presence of air will deform the electron beam and affect the scanning effect, so a vacuum must be drawn.
The main reason why everyone chooses the scanning electron microscope SEM lies in the quality advantages, feature advantages, use advantages and performance advantages of the scanning electron microscope SEM itself. Always ensure the quality and performance, but also ensure the accuracy of the method of use when using it.