Colorizing images and representing them in 3D are common practices in many fields of science and industry. Automation of these processes is now bringing new presentation possibilities to scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Here, we discuss various methods used to bring micrographs to life and make details contained within them easier for the human eye to comprehend. These include stereophotogrammetry, reflectometry (“shape from shading”), and a new technique for adding color to objects that soon could make flat, gray SEM images a thing of the past.

The scanning tunneling microscope is essential to nanoscience and nanotechnology because it can provide images of surfaces at the atomic level with sub-nanometer resolution. Now a LabVIEW-based virtual instrument is available as a free-download at our company website (www.newpathresearch.com) for simulating the full operation of a scanning tunneling microscope. This is an executable version to be run on a Windows operating system without requiring other software.

We have analyzed atom probe tomography reconstructions of disaggregated meteoritic material containing nanodiamonds and disordered carbon to determine whether these phases formed in the solar system or whether they predate the solar system and were formed in supernovae or the interstellar medium. We developed a method to distinguish between these two carbonaceous phases in < 100 nm diameter aggregates using the ratios of various native and contaminant molecular species. We find variations in measured 12C/13C ratios between the two phases that suggest hydrides form more readily during field evaporation of the disordered C than the nanodiamonds.

For digital light microscopes, which have image sensors but no eyepieces, the image is displayed directly on an electronic monitor. This development brings a significant change to the usual way magnification of an object viewed via a microscope is determined. Over the years, there have been various standards that define magnification when viewing an image through a microscope’s eyepieces. Only recently have magnification standards been developed that apply to a digital microscope. This article offers guidelines for determining the range of useful magnification values for digital microscopy, particularly when monitors of various sizes are employed.

AFM-based nanoelectrical modes have numerous applications in fields ranging from semiconductors to biology. The data produced have traditionally been in the form of a 2D map, generated in contact mode, with a single electrical data point per XY location. Electrical ramps or spectra would be generated at a few, carefully selected locations. This article discusses a new approach to nanoelectrical imaging that creates an electrical data cube and a correlated nanomechanical data cube while operating at normal imaging speeds. This approach avoids contact mode imaging, thus extending electrical measurements to soft and fragile samples and improving measurement consistency. Moreover, this is a general approach that is applicable to most nanoelectrical modes and applications.

The OSU-FEI Electron Microscopy Collaboratory multiplies the number of individuals who can experience hands-on advanced microscopy techniques. The microscopy classroom allows up to 33 attendees to operate, individually and in real time, electron microscopes as if they were sitting in front of the actual instruments. The communications link, a fast backbone augmented by Internet2, allows various microscopes to be operated from the classroom or by collaborators in another city. This system transforms the training of new users from a one-person-at-a-time session with an expert operator to a group collaborative activity that can include users from around the world.

The DualBeam, which combines focused ion beam and scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM), is regularly used for sample preparation in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A DualBeam enables the user to thin specific regions of a bulk material to electron transparency. While this process is often performed manually, we describe an interactive guided TEM sample preparation process. By this method, the preparation process time is shortened for expert users, compared to manual processes, and enables novice users to obtain high-quality results routinely. The method can be used on almost any material to prepare thin lamellas for most common TEM applications.

We present a specimen preparation procedure for atom-probe tomography using SemGlu from Kleindiek Nanotechnik, an adhesive that hardens under electron beam irradiation. The SemGlu adhesive is used in place of focused-ion-beam-induced deposition of organo-metallic Pt, W, or C to form a bond between the sample and the substrate during the specimen preparation procedure. We demonstrate the utility of this adhesive-based specimen preparation technique with a correlated atom-probe tomography-scanning transmission electron microscopy study of the iron-nickel alloy kamacite (ferrite, ɑ-iron) in the Bristol iron meteorite and two steel specimens.

A real-time logging system (RTLS) has been developed for managing multiuser equipment such as modern electron microscopes that are operated or controlled via a computer. The RTLS is designed to log the usage of the computer and thus the usage of the equipment. The RTLS is a small-size Java program, which is easy to install and use. It has two basic interfaces, a log-in interface and a logbook interface. The first is a semi-transparent shielded layer that covers the computer monitor until a successful log-in occurs, and the second records instrument usage.

Generation of three-dimensional SEM micrographs is traditionally based on a pair of images showing the object from two different perspectives. Here a method is described by which the 3D effect can be obtained from a single photograph. This technique is founded upon the principle of object-depth mapping, where different depth levels of the object are encoded with different colors. This process enables the creation of an image stack that forms the basis for the 3D image. Several photographic examples from different scientific fields are provided in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

Aberration-corrected STEM has become a standard analytical technique in the field of nanoscience. As “designer materials” have become more in demand in academic circles, verification of a desired product makes atomic-resolutionanalysis mandatory. Industry currently faces the same trend where tailor-made materials are customized for a given application. Here we show several examples where quantifiable atomic-scale manipulation of nanomaterials can have a dramatic impact on structure and, by extension, functionality.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used in a wide range of applications for imaging sub-nanometer resolution topography, as well as for analysis of physical characteristics (such as surface stiffness and electromagnetic properties). While surface imaging and characterization on the nanoscale is of great value and is widely used across all fields of science, correlation with other types of microscopy can greatly enhance the value of those measurements. Here, we discuss a new approach that uses a small, ultra-thin AFM, which allows it to be integrated with standard light microscopes. The authors believe the design will allow for a new paradigm in microscopy, by enabling all the advantages of AFM to be combined with the advanced imaging capabilities of research-grade light microscopes.

Semiconductors CulnSe2 (CIS) and alloys of Cu(ln,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) are often used as the light absorbing layer in thin film photovoltaic devices. These polycrystalline materials reach good conversion efficiencies despite the presence of grain boundaries, which can degrade device performance. Grain properties such as size distribution and orientation can be characterized using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The EBSD method has been used extensively to determine texture and recrystallization in metal forming processes but to a lesser extent for characterization of CIGS thin film properties. This article describes measurements of grain properties for CIGS thin films grown under different reaction conditions.

Methyl cellulose based coatings applied to food before deep-fat frying can reduce the amount of oil absorbed by the food during cooking as measured by bulk analysis techniques. However, information about the distribution of oil in the food, and how that is impacted by the coatings is lacking. A method is presented using osmium tetroxide to stain the oil and light microscopy to visualize its distribution. The method was applied to French fries and showed that the extent of oil ingress was reduced when a methyl cellulose coating was used.

Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) has become a powerful tool for probing the structures of soft-matter materials at nanometer or sub-nanometer scale. For many complex molecular fluids (CMFs), the limiting factor in such studies is the preparation of a cryo-TEM specimen that represents the native structure. Plunge freezing of electron-transparent thin films has been widely used, but it is often influenced or even dominated by surface effects and mechanical disturbances of the CMF. In this article, we use liquid crystals as model CMF systems and present the general procedures and typical results of cryo-ultramicrotomy of rapidly frozen “bulk” samples.