ABSTRACT
Digital imaging theory and associated techniques have been well developed for many years (1-7). However, it was in last decade of the twentieth century that digital imaging techniques have been so broadly applied in electron microscopy, thanks to the enormous progress in electronic technology and faster and faster computers (8). Entering the twenty-first century, this technique has even more profoundly impacted on the electron microscopy world. New scanning electron microscopes (SEM) possess full digital imaging and networking capability and SEM images can be conveniently stored in several low-cost, convenient ways and printed into high-quality hardcopies. As a result, the conventional analog SEM films used for so many years are disappearing. On the transmission electron microscope (TEM) side, although the analog recording films are still in use, their elimination seems to be near with the introduction of a better charge-coupled device (CCD). This means that our microscopists in industry, academics, or government agencies are facing new challenges. New knowledge and skills are needed to master the digital imaging technology, which includes digital image recording, processing, analysis, archiving, printing, and transferring. In addition, now digital electron microscopy cannot only offer high-magnification, high-resolution images of a specimen, but can also conveniently provide quantitative microstructure information about the materials often needed in the development of new products. In this transition time, our objectives are to review the fundamentals of digital imaging, to provide an update of the advances in technology in this field, and, finally, to show examples of how to apply this technique to solving real industrial problems. We hope our readers can benefit from this chapter and use digital electron microscopy imaging techniques more effectively in their daily work.
