SEM comp wires
Originally uploaded by nekotaku
A composite of 3 images captured from the JEOL 6100 SEM at school. This was two backscatter imaging modes comped onto a Secondary electron image . it highlights more detail, but the two backscatter images have inherently less resolution than a secondary image due to the way the electrons are derived. There is a whole bunch of technobabble that explains the reaction, involving salubrious words like ‘reaction vessel’ but I’ll spare you the details, I can barely pay attention to them anymore, we’ve gone over them so much in class.
Each of the three images interprets the electrons coming off the sample (in this case some un-identified wires that I will have to try to identify by the amount and energy level of the x-rays generated by aforementioned electron interaction) in slightly different ways. The secondary electron image gives you your basic topographical rendering of an object the way most people think of ‘electron microscope images’ as being. The compositional backscatter image assigns grey values to material based on the atomic number of the substance – the higher the atomic number, the darker the material appears, and the second backscatter image, the topographic one, assigns contrast based on the surface dynamics of the material by using two backscatter detectors, which is basically a simplified differential interference contrast type of imaging that highlights minute topographical features on an otherwise plain surface. The topographic image basically comes out looking like a photonegative of the image above.
I merged the photos in a half-assed HDRish manner. I hope you enjoy. I’d be tempted to add in some false color, but the sample itself was monochromatic so you’re basically seeing the way it looks without reflected light obscuring any part of it.