Topic > Essay on Electron Microscopy - 1662

The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique has been used extensively as it is desired for this study to examine and obtain images of prepared specimens. The associated analytical framework of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis was used to identify and quantify the elemental composition of the prepared samples. These different techniques are essentially part of a single tool. The EDX facility (an X-ray detector and associated software) is incorporated intimately as part of the SEM itself. The EDX facility cannot operate without the operation of the SEM, since the generation of the analytical X-ray signal depends on the interaction between the incident electron beam and the sample in the SEM. EDAX() and DES (energy dispersive spectrometer) are often used interchangeably in place of EDX by different instrument manufacturers, but they are essentially the same technique. There are mainly three types of electron microscope1. Scanning electron microscope (SEM)2. Transmission electron microscope (Tem)3. Dual function capability: scanning – transmission electron microscopy (STEM). An electron gun is present in a scanning electron microscope to generate an electron beam in a high vacuum column. With the help of an accelerating voltage between 1.0 and 30 kV, the emitted electrons are converted into a coherent beam using a system of electromagnetic coils or lenses. Then the beam passed through the main column of the electron gun into the sample chamber. A nice point is focused on here. Then the sample surface is quickly scanned. As a result of ionization processes, secondary electrons are emitted from the sample. From the primary beam (generated by the electron gun) some electrons are reflected or bounced back from the sample......to the center of the paper......which describes the angle at which an X-ray beam of a particular wavelength diffracts from a crystalline surface. Bragg's law is as follows:ƛ=2d sinθWhere:θ = Bragg angle;ƛ = is the incident wavelength; d= is the spacing between different planes. We can measure the Bragg angle (2θ). This is the location of the Bragg reflection, or peak. Then, since we know the wavelength (ƛ) of the X-rays, we can calculate the spacing d (the distance between different planes in the crystal) from Bragg's Law (Equation 3-36) A typical the shape of a graph, with a series of peaks (the actual diffraction pattern), with the horizontal axis equal to 2θ, or twice the Bragg angle; and the vertical axis is the intensity, i.e. the count of X-rays measured by the detector, which is a function of the crystalline structure and the orientation of the crystallites.