The process of ultra-miniaturization has been termed nanofabrication. It looks like the scanning tunneling microscope (STU) and related microscopes will be players in this technology of the future. One of the most recent contributions has been the demonstration that single molecules can be “pushed” across a surface with the STM. This remarkable achievement was demonstrated by Thomas Jung, Reto Schlittler, and James Gimzewski of the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and Hao Tang and Christian Joachim of the National Center for Scientific Research in Toulouse, They were able to position intact individual molecules on a two-dimensional surface at room temperature by a controlled “pushing” action of the tip of a STM. Similar positioning feats have been done at low temperatures while thermal motion is limited.

What follows is a list of some physical perspectives on the electrons used routinely for transmission electron microscopy. Without knowing it, you may on a daily basis be putting to practical use things, like the wave nature of electrons, that were inconceivable in the early part of this century. In fact, some of the properties of these electrons may be only marginally conceivable today!

This is the first in a series of articles that serve to identify what scanning Cathodoluminescence can offer the materials technologist. Whilst begining with Electronic Materials. Geological,Ceramic and Diamond applications will be covered over the next installments concluding with a reveiw of instrumentation needed to perform the studies covered in the final chapter.

Cathodoluminescence (CL) is the most important optical phenomenon used by all electron microscopists. It is the process by which electrons are converted into light in the Everhart Thornley secondary electron detector and also in the screens and cameras of TEMs.

In recent years, many developments in imaging instrumentation and support technologies have put in question the conventional way of working with images. Conversion from analog to digital imaging is pursued at all levels of microscopy driven by the benefits of new forthcoming digital precision imaging technologies for visualization and quantification of the image information. These developments will revolutionize microscopy by extending the information retrieval from the level of the full-frame image to the level of individual pixels.

California State University, Hayward has successfully demonstrated remote control of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). The development of digital imaging technology has iead to exploration and testing of networking strategies for sharing scientific instrumentation. The concept of shared instrumentation is appealing to both academia and private enterprise. Networking access presents the opportunity to teach scanning electron microscopy to a large number of students using multiple desktop computers. Video images can also be projected onto large screens in classrooms or as a distant learning resource. Remote shared access to scientific equipment provides certain advantages such as access to a wider variety of resources, direct interaction without hazard to people or equipment, ability to combine resources into larger virtual instruments, rapid access to available resources, and pooling of knowledge by a larger community.The advent of high speed networks such as ATM offers the possibility of integrated solutions to communication and control.

Two of the aggravations of effectively managing an EM unit are cost containment and effective storage of large numbers of specimens. For the past several years we have enjoyed the benefits of a stub-storage box (for pin-type stubs) available to microscopists without cost. These boxes, which held micro-pipette tips, are regularly discarded by molecular biology and biochemistry labs, in fact, since colleagues have recognized that we use their spent plastic boxes, we have been inundated with boxes originally slated for recycling. While several types of these boxes are available, most measure approximately twelve cm by eight cm and have a plastic platform with ninety-six holes. The boxes hold eight one-inch stubs and six half-inch stubs or thirty-two half-inch stubs.

The electron microscope laboratory at the High Temperature Materials Laboratory in Oak Ridge National Laboratory runs essentially film free. This is possible due to the use of TV-rate and slow-scan CCD cameras together with fast desktop computers connected through Ethernet to network servers for image storage; and a variety of hard copy output devices. In our experience, the functionality of a film-free laboratory goes beyond the simple replacement of film material with some other storage media. For example, the time and effort to produce a final hardcopy image has been reduced effectively from several hours to several minutes. At the same time, data accuracy has increased due to the high linearity of the CCD cameras and data safety is improved due to automated nightly backups.