Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Electron microscopy is a type of microscope that uses electrons to create an image of the specimen. The most common type of electron microscope is the transmission electron microscope (TEM), which uses a beam of electrons to create an image on a fluorescent screen or photographic film.
Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) are another type of electron microscope. In a SEM, a focused beam of electrons is scanned across the surface of the specimen, and the resulting image is displayed on a computer monitor. Secondary electron microscopes (SEM) are similar to scanning electron microscopes, but they use secondary electrons that are emitted from the specimen during scanning to create the image.
Aresold-penetration microscope(APM) is yet another type oftomicroscope used in materials scienceand other industrial fields for nondestructive testingand metallographyof metal alloyswithout requiring coatingor etching for examination. It was originally developed by Siemensin Germany in 1966 and has also been called apartial-electron-beam induced current(PEBIC) ormicrocurrent imaging(MCI). The resolutionis comparable tomagneto optical Kerr effectimagingbut with higher contrast due tot he use offocusing rather than polarization optics;however it lacks atomic resolution.
Atomic force microscopy(AFM) or scanning force microscopy(SFM) is amicroscopetechnique using abranchofscanning probe methodsfor characterizing surfaces at resolutions much better thanthe best light microscopes can achieve, down to single nanometer scale detail over large areas with subatomic accuracy. As such, it can be considered as one themost powerful formsof scanning probe microscopy(SPM).The information gathered from AFM provides roughness data about arbitrary shapes at very high lateral spatial resolution (< 10 nm). Additionally, quantitative information about local mechanical properties can be obtained through nanoindentation measurements performed with AFMs.