Describe the resolution of the scanning electron microscope.

Resolution of the SEM (scanning electron microscope):

The spatial resolution of the SEM depends onto the size of the electron spot that in turn depends onto both the wavelength of the electrons and the electron-optical system that produces the scanning beam. The resolution is also restricted by the size of the interaction volume, or else the extent to that the material interacts along with the electron beam. The interaction volume and spot size are both large compared to the distances among atoms, therefore the resolution of the SEM (scanning electron microscope) is not high sufficient to image individual atoms, as is probable in the shorter wavelength (that is higher energy) transmission electron microscope (TEM). The scanning electron microscope has compensating advantages, while, including the capability to image a comparatively large region of the specimen; the capability to image bulk materials (not just thin foils or films); and the variety of analytical models obtainable for measuring the composition and properties of the specimen. Depending onto the instrument, the resolution can fall somewhere in between less than 1 nm and 20 nm. The world's highest scanning electron microscope resolution is obtained along with the Hitachi S-5500. Resolution is 0.4nm at 30kV and 1.6nm at 1kV. Usually, SEM images are easier to interpret than TEM images.