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Electronic scanning microscopy

An Electronic Scanning Microscope (SEM) is mainly composed of an electron emitter, a column and different electromagnetic lenses. The function of the emitter is to generate a beam of electrons (incident electrons) with an acceleration between 200 V and 30 keV, which travels through the column (Vacuum of 10-4 Pa). In the column, the electron beam passes through the different electromagnetic lenses and a deflection system that allows manipulating the electron beam in order to carry out a superficial sweep of the sample.
Once the incident electrons interact with the surface of the sample, different signals are generated: secondary electrons, retro-scattered electrons, x-rays, among others. These signals are captured by different types of detectors, helping to obtain morphological information and chemical surface composition of the sample.
Instrumentation
Staff
Francisco Javier García García
Ángel Mazario Fernández
Ana María Vicente Montaña
Ana Soubrie Gutiérrez Mayor
Pedro Robredo Urbina
ICTS Microscopy