Computer control of Transmission Electron Microscopes possibilities, concepts and present limitations

Abstract

The electron microscope laboratory at the High Temperature Materials Laboratory in Oak Ridge National Laboratory runs essentially film free. This is possible due to the use of TV-rate and slow-scan CCD cameras together with fast desktop computers connected through Ethernet to network servers for image storage and a variety of hard copy output devices. In our experience, the functionality of a film-free laboratory goes beyond the simple replacement of film material with some other storage media. For example, the tim and effort to produce a final hardcopy image has been reduced effectively from several hours to several minutes. At the same time, data accuracy has increased due to the high linearity of the CCD cameras and data safety is improved due to automated nightly backups.The present all-digital setup of our TEMs has already changed the routines on how an TEM is run. Two si uations occur regularly: 1) one microscopist moves back and forth between the TEM and the computer and 2) two microscopists run the computer and/or TEM as a team. Unfortunately, the tasks of recording an image and running the microscope are still very much separated.