Low temperature scanning electron microscopy: a review

Low temperature scanning electron microscopy is useful for morphological and analytical studies both in situations where low temperature techniques are used during specimen preparation and where low temperature stages are used for specimen examination and analysis. Examples are given of different low temperature specimen preparation techniques and how they may be applied to different types of specimen. There are still a number of problems associated with morphological identification in fully frozen-hydrated samples and it is important to carry out parallel studies using more conventional transmission electron microscopy and light microscopy preparation techniques. A number of criteria are presented, some or all of which may be used to establish the existence of the frozen-hydrated state.