ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the principles of Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) imaging, and considers the particular problems presented by polymers and the way these difficulties are countered. It describes ancillary equipment that enables the identification of the elemental constituents of the area of the specimen under examination. The chapter describes how the SEM is built around the interaction between a beam of electrons and a solid surface on to which it impinges. Modern SEMs offer many facilities that aid the operation of the instrument and improve its performance and/or the appearance of the image. The chapter discusses examples of the application of secondary electron imaging, draws some circumstances in which other techniques can be used profitably. The yields of secondary electrons and of reflected backscattered electrons both increase with increasing atomic number. The charge neutralizer is quite effective at low magnifications and can be valuable when used in conjunction with a deformation stage for studying polymer deformation processes in the SEM.
