The Electron Microscopes: Concise History and Review

Since its invention, electron microscope (EM) has been a valuable tool in the development of scientific theory and it contributed greatly to biology, medicine and material sciences. This wide spread use of EMs is based on the fact that they permit the observation and characterization of materials on a nanometer (nm) to micrometer (µm) scale. In this review article, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) were defined and reviewed. The EMs functions and types were discussed, in addition to clarifying the parts and components of TEM, SEM and optical microscopes for neophyte, starting from the sample’s preparation through imaging of the samples. Also, this review will point out the limitations and advantages of each type and issues to be considered during experimental design. Advanced EM techniques are listed as well.in this review, Diagrammatically, identify the various parts of a microscopes, what is the differences between TEM, SEM and optical microscopes and finally the methods of samples preparation have been mentioned.
Keywords:Electron microscopy, SEM, TEM, sectioning, staining
Citation:Hamid MK. The electron microscopes: Concise history and review. Iraqi JMS. 2022; 20(2): 154-167. doi: 10.22578/IJMS.20.2.1