Converting A Scanning Electron Microscope Into A TEM Is Surprisingly Easy

A Shop-Built Adapter Brings Transmission Imaging to a Scanning Electron Microscope

Makers who restore old scientific equipment sometimes end up pushing those machines into new roles. ProjectsInFlight fits that description after bringing a JEOL JSM-5200 scanning electron microscope back to life from a scrap pile. Scanning electron microscopes work by zipping a narrow beam of electrons across the surface of a specimen. These electrons bounce off [...]

Converting A Scanning Electron Microscope Into A TEM Is Surprisingly Easy

Although both a SEM and a TEM are electron microscopes, their working principles and images are very different. Whereas an SEM uses secondary electrons ejected after bombarding a sample’s surface with primary electrons, a TEM works more like an X-ray machine, with a sensor placed behind the sample to record primary electrons after they pass through said sample. It is, however, possible to turn a SEM into a TEM with some creativity, as [ProjectsI…