Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2018
One of the major advancements applied to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) during the past 10 years has been the development and application of digital imaging technology. Advancements in technology, notably the availability of less expensive, high-density memory chips and the development of high speed analog-to-digital converters, mass storage and high performance central processing units have fostered this revolution. Today, most modern SEM instruments have digital electronics as a standard feature. These instruments, generally have 8 bit or 256 gray levels with, at least, 512 X 512 pixel density operating at TV rate. In addition, current slow-scan commercial frame-grabber cards, directly applicable to the SEM, can have upwards of 12-14 bit lateral resolution permitting image acquisition at 4096 X 4096 resolution or greater.