How Does A Transmission Electron Microscope Work?
Transmission electron microscopes use high electric voltages — as much as 400,000 volts — to accelerate a beam of electrons within a vacuum chamber. The beam is then aimed at a thin slice of the material under study. After the powerful beam of electrons passes through the sample, it is focused and projected onto either a monitor or photographic film to provide an image of the structure. Transmission electron microscopes can provide magnification as much as 1.5 million times. Since the electron beam must pass through it, preparation of the sample is critical. The cost of developing the Electron Microscopy Facility has been borne by the National Science Foundation, the State of Georgia through the Georgia Research Alliance, and Georgia Tech. “We want to see this facility grow into one of the major microscopy facilities in the nation,” Wang says. “This equipment is essential to many key areas of research, and most of the country’s largest and best universities now have it.” The eq
