Sure, when you were in high school, you used a microscope in some laboratory class. You may even work with microscopes every day. However, not all microscopes are the same. There are electron microscopes that are capable of doing much more than just enlarging an image. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) 
is one of them because it uses an electron microscopy technique which allows you to see high-quality images through electronic interactions. Do you dare to discover more about this?
What are Scanning Electron Microscopes?
Electrons, light, matter; the scanning electron microscope shows a complex but precise reality. This is one of the main techniques of electron microscopy. Like most microscopes in this category, the required result of scanning electron microscopes is high-resolution images. The most significant difference is that these images aren’t produced by interactions with light, but by interactions between the electron and the matter that is observed.
The name scanning is due to the microscope scanning the electrons on the sample. In possessing this characteristic, the matter observed must be composed of some conductive element. If this is not the case, it must be covered with a layer of some element that allows it. Through observation and contact with electrons, highly amplified images can be obtained, which show a lot of detail.
How Were They Created?
In 1937, Manfred von Ardenne managed to synthesise much of the existing information and turn it into a scanning electron microscope. The great discovery was, at the moment of seeing the electrons, the responses of some particles were received. This means that the image can be seen in up to three dimensions; it isn’t a simple amplification. Work continued throughout the years, especially at the University of Cambridge, from the mid-twentieth century, although the first commercialisation occurred in 1965.
How are Scanning Electron Microscopes Used?
Although the electronic character of scanning electron microscopes may suggest otherwise, the use of these devices isn’t difficult. If the element to be observed is of some conductive material, nothing more will be necessary. If it isn’t, a thin layer of carbon or gold must be added to make it conductive.
From there, the microscope work begins. With accelerated electrons, the first signals are emitted which, through electromagnets, measure the response electrons. Secondary electron detectors and backscattered electron detectors work throughout this process. From them, the image can be formed in three dimensions, depending on the electrons detected. Nanotechnology products and the industry itself is amazing, don’t you think?
In What Areas are These Microscopes Useful?
The science of small is increasingly encompassing new spaces. Electron microscopy is no exception, and this particular microscope has found workspaces in different sectors of science. Naturally, one of the first uses is in biology, where the study of tissues and any element may need an amplified vision such as the one offered by this microscope.
Also, there are other sciences such as geology, that with this microscope can determine specific characteristics of the stones, minerals and different terrains which they are analysing. In this same sense, archaeology is another of the main elements where this microscope is used, being useful to interpret the results of excavations and discoveries.