Materials Problems and Approaches for TEM and TEM/STEM Analyses - Sample Preparation Topic for Transmission Electron Microscopy - page 58

Table 4.1 Scales of characterization: macroscopic, mesoscopic, microscopic, and nanoscopic

Type of analysis

Analyzable
surface area

Spatial
resolution

Chemical
analysis 2D-3D observation Topography Morphology Structure/orientation Properties

X-rays cm 1 µ m 3D reconstruction +++ +++

Photonic
Confocal

cm 400 nm

200 nm

2D
3D reconstruction

+++ ++

+++

+ +++

+++

SEM cm 50-1 nm 3D +++ +++ + +++ ++

TEM mm 0.1 nm

2nm

2D
3D reconstruction

+
++

+++
++

+++
+++

+++ +++

+++

AFM mm 0.2-10 nm

0.1-1 nm

2D (ab) plane
3D (z)

+++
+++

+++
+++

++
++