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Updated: May 29, 2026

Preparation and Observation of Thick Biological Samples by Scanning Transmission Electron Tomography
Published on: March 12, 2017
Contrast enhancement in the phase plate transmission electron microscopy using an objective lens with a long focal
Hiroki Minoda1, Tatsuhiro Okabe, Hirofumi Iijima
1Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. hminoda@cc.tuat.ac.jp
Abstract:
A new optical condition using an objective lens (OL) of a long focal length (objective mini lens: OM) was tested to enhance image contrast in phase plate transmission electron microscopy (P-TEM). A phase plate was set on the selected area aperture plane where diffraction patterns were formed under the optical condition using the OM. A phase shift by the phase plate was added to the electron waves to visualize phase objects. The application of the OM to the P-TEM should provide higher phase contrast than that obtained by the OL for the phase objects. One of the reasons for the contrast enhancement is that high-angle scattering electron waves which would give the background intensity were not used for image formation due to the large spherical aberration. Another reason is that the cut-on frequency above which the phase shift was added by the phase plate could be smaller using the OL with a long focal length. Experimental results and model calculations showed the contrast enhancement of the biological specimens using the OM.
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