Digital image processing: a path to better pictures

Digital image processing can be used to provide enhanced performance in scanning electron column instruments. Improved visualization, reduced specimen damage, and quantization can be achieved. The system described here provides hardware for digitization and storage of multiple images simultaneously, and multimode scan generation. System software provides easy scan control, image digitization, automatic prescale adjust on acquisition, grey scale histogram generation, grey scale compression or expansion, image filtering, smoothing, and random color assignment to grey levels. Image digitization and processing was done using the EG&G ORTEC Image Master Microanalyzer in conjunction with a JEOL 100CX TEMSCAN and a JEOL JSM 35. Examples of image processing of bright and dark field STEM images of biological specimens are shown. An example of X-ray image processing using a two-dimensional filter function to reduce image noise is also shown.