Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Multimodal Hierarchical Imaging of Serial Sections for Finding Specific Cellular Targets within Large Volumes
11:19

Multimodal Hierarchical Imaging of Serial Sections for Finding Specific Cellular Targets within Large Volumes

Published on: March 20, 2018

SESAM: exploring the frontiers of electron microscopy

Christoph T Koch1, Wilfried Sigle, Rainer Höschen

  • 1Max Planck Institut für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstr. 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany. koch@mf.mpg.de

Microscopy and Microanalysis : the Official Journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada
|October 17, 2009
PubMed
Summary

The sub-electron-volt-sub-angstrom microscope (SESAM) achieves high-performance electron microscopy with 87-meV energy resolution. This advanced transmission electron microscope opens new frontiers in spectroscopy and diffraction analysis.

More Related Videos

Preparation and Observation of Thick Biological Samples by Scanning Transmission Electron Tomography08:04

Preparation and Observation of Thick Biological Samples by Scanning Transmission Electron Tomography

Published on: March 12, 2017

Three-dimensional Characterization of Interorganelle Contact Sites in Hepatocytes using Serial Section Electron Microscopy09:12

Three-dimensional Characterization of Interorganelle Contact Sites in Hepatocytes using Serial Section Electron Microscopy

Published on: June 9, 2022

Related Concept Videos

Scanning Electron Microscopy01:07

Scanning Electron Microscopy

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the surface features of a sample by using an electron beam that scans the sample surface in a two-dimensional manner. Typically, areas between ~1 centimeter to 5 micrometers in width can be imaged. SEM can be used to image bacteria, viruses, tissues as well as larger samples like insects. Conventional SEM gives a magnification ranging from 20X to 30,000X and spatial resolution of 50 to 100 nanometers.
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
Transmission Electron Microscopy01:15

Transmission Electron Microscopy

In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400 keV in...
Overview of Microscopy Techniques01:22

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
Preparation of Samples for Electron Microscopy01:20

Preparation of Samples for Electron Microscopy

To be visualized by an electron microscope, either transmission or scanning, biological samples need to be fixed (stabilized) so the electron beam does not destroy them and dried thoroughly (desiccated/dehydrated) so the vacuum does not affect them. Fixation needs to be done as quickly as possible because the sample properties will start changing as soon as it is removed from its natural environment. For example, in a tissue sample, the oxygen levels begin decreasing, causing an altered...