Open trade policies have influenced trends in global economic growth. Though difficult to account for all of the effects of this trend, a higher standard of living for previously distressed workers is measurable. This is in part due to acess to previously unavailable technologies. The effects of global economic growth extend further. In many countries, consumers enjoy unparalleled selection of high quality, low cost goods. The environmental impact of global growth is being studied in many ways. One area of study involves analysis and monitoring of product raw materials that many times are not in compliance with environmental regulations of the end user country. Raw material procurement and formulation by manufacturers presents a challenge to the environmental microscopist on several levels. The industrial use of sepiolite and some light microscopy basics of sepiolite is discussed here. Subsequent papers will explore this issue in greater detail as it relates to fibrous mineral analytical choices and techniques available to the environmental microscopist.

The ambition to produce a functional miniature microscope suitable for tropical disease diagnostics in developing countries has exercised the ingenuity of many talented designers over the last 75 years. In the early 1930's the late Dr John McArthur produced the first prototype of his pioneering folded optic design and this portable gem measured a mere 102 x 63 x 51 mm, yet was able to deliver everything which would be expected from a conventional bench microscope of similar optical specification (see Fig. 1A).

To achieve this high degree of miniaturization McArthur employed a folded optical prismatic system: light entered from above the microscope via a mirror and then passed through a small condenser to the specimen, a revolutionary concept at that time. The objectives were arranged below the specimen and the image was reflected by two prisms to the eyepiece.

As engineering challenges grow in the ever-shrinking world of nano-design, methods of making dynamic measurements of nano-materials and systems become more important. The Doppler electron velocimeter (DEV) is a new measurement concept motivated by the increasing importance of nano-dynamics. Nano-dynamics is defined in this context as any phenomenon that causes a dynamically changing phase in an electron beam, and includes traditional mechanical motion, as well as additional phenomena including changing magnetic and electric fields. The DEV is only a theoretical device at this point. This article highlights the importance of pursuing nano-dynamics and presents a case that the electron microscope and its associated optics are a viable test bed to develop this new measurement tool.

Recent developments in nano- and semiconductor technology have substantially increased the demand for accurate and efficient site specific cross-sectioning of specimens and preparation of TEM samples. Moreover, nano-research is facing new challenges for manipulation, observation, and modification of devices on a submicron scale. At the same time in materials science a new focus on analytical nanoscale investigations—not only of specimen surfaces and cross sections—but on sample volumes is emerging.

These demanding requirements can be met if a focused ion beam (FIB) column for nanoscale structuring is combined with a high resolution SEM that is used to monitor the FIB milling and deposition process on a nanometer scale. Such an integrated Cross-Beam® system enables the high resolution observation and direct control of the FIB milling process in real time. Using this concept it is possible to prepare site specific TEM samples and cross sections with nano-scale accuracy. Such a system can be complemented with a gas injection system (GIS), for deposition and enhanced etching of specific materials, as well as, in-situ micro manipulation systems, and analytical detectors such as EDX and EBSP systems.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a key technique for the measurement and analysis of samples when nanoscale topography is of interest. It offers a number of complementary probing modes that extend an AFM's measurement capability to a wide range of material and transport properties of surfaces, including hardness, friction, conductivity and adhesion among others. Sample temperature controlled AFM extends the study of surface morphology and properties to include changes in the material phases.

Recently, silicon microfabricated AFM cantilevers that have integrated heaters, as shown in figure 1, have become commercially available. These cantilevers were initially developed for probe based data storage by researchers at IBM Zurich, Figure 1. With the availability of these cantilevers, AFM measurements can be performed where the tip is heated as opposed to the sample.

Since becoming popular more than a decade ago, low vacuum scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have continued to evolve. The latest systems offer uncompromised performance over an unprecedented range of sample chamber vacuum conditions. Instruments are now available that provide near-nanometer resolution in all vacuum modes and the ability to operate at pressures as high as 4000 Pascals (~30 Torr). Low vacuum operation eliminates much of the sample preparation required for conventional (high vacuum) SEM. Insulating samples can be imaged without conductive coatings. Wet, dirty, outgassing samples can be examined without drying and fixing. Systems can also be configured with a wide range of ancillary capabilities for imaging, analysis, and sample manipulation, including advanced secondary, backscattered, and transmitted electron detection, X-ray spectrometry, electron backscatter diffraction, and focused ion beam (FIB) manipulation. The current generation of systems combine speed, flexibility, repeatability, and ease of use, making them the ideal solution for any laboratory that must satisfy a wide range of imaging and analytical demands.

Microfluidics, the study of fluid flow through structures with micrometer scale dimensions, is an increasingly important discipline within a number of commercial and industrial applications. One focus of active microfluidic research at the Stanford University Microscale Heat Transfer Laboratories (MHTL) is mass and heat transport in two-phase flows, which has applications in the cooling of integrated circuits and the management of water created in PEM fuel cells. At its core, two-phase microfluidics is the study of interactions between moving liquids and/or gases and/or solids (though not necessarily stationary) structures. Advanced confocal microscopy, with its ability to visualize and measure both flow and structure on a single instrumental platform, will certainly play a key role in the continuing development of microfluidic devices.

The highly structured arthropod cuticle is often adorned with dense hairs that conceal the underlying landscape. Thus, to examine the structures and patterns on the cuticle the overlying hairs must be removed with minimal damage to the cuticle itself. Different methods can be employed to eliminate hairs but the difficulty of this task is compounded by the small size and fragility of the exoskeleton to which the hairs are attached. If the hairs are removed using razor blades or scissors, not only is the debris from the cut hairs and the stubble from the remainder of the shaft left behind, but the cuticle is often broken in the course of gripping the exoskeleton. We developed a unique technique that cleanly removes hairs without leaving debris or damaging the structure. This technique has been successfully used to examine the cuticular surfaces of arthropods of varying sizes including spiders, bees, beetles and moths.

As nearly all imaging has moved from analogue media such as photographic film into digital image files it has become vital to understand how resolution and digital sampling affect the information contained in these images. This article is a basic introduction to the important concepts and how they should be applied, using general assumptions, rather than a rigorous mathematical approach. The focus is on optical microscopy although the essentials are the same for any digital imaging. The basic concepts are explained with reference to optical microscopy, but then the article moves on to more general aspects of sampling in digital imaging. More detailed, and mathematical, treatments can be found in a range of literature but a particularly detailed and instructive description can be found in Chapter 4, Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy, 3rd edition, Ed J.B. Pawley, Springer 2006.

Hydrocarbon (HC) contamination is a persistent problem for users of electron microscopes (EMs), often leading to image distortion and interference with nanoprobing. The Evactron De-Contaminator (D-C) has been available for HC contamination removal in EMs since 1999. The Evactron D-C uses low power radio frequency (RF) generated plasma in order to produce oxygen radicals that clean the EM. The Oxygen Radical Source (ORS) is attached to the EM chamber, and a controlled leak of oxygen containing gas such as room air is passed through the plasma in order to produce oxygen radicals. The oxygen radicals chemically react with the HCs to form volatile oxidation products such as H2O, CO and CO2. These volatile compounds are pumped out of the EM chamber.

Magnetic recording media based on patterned shapes are promising for applications in high density data storage. Optimizing the design of the patterned arrays requires characterization of the particle shapes and their relative locations, and the magnetostatic interactions between particles. To achieve this, one must determine the three dimensional (3D) magnetic induction in and around the nano magnets. We propose a method based on Vector Field Electron Tomography coupled with phase reconstructed Lorentz Microscopy to determine the 3D magnetic induction. This method can be broken down into two steps 1) Determination of the magnetic phase shift of the electron wave using phase reconstructed Lorentz microscopy and 2) Reconstruction (in 3D) of the magnetic induction in and around the magnetic particle using Vector Field Electron Tomography (VFET). First, we will discuss the theoretical development of VFET and then the importance of spherical aberration (Cs) correctors for Lorentz microscopy.

Transparent specimens are usually examined by dark field, phase contrast and interference contrast light microscopy. In dark field, specimens are illuminated by oblique light beams that come from the periphery of the illuminating apparatus. Therefore, some transparent objects, e.g. unstained native bacteria, are barely visible and fine structures inside them are often not visible. In phase contrast, the discernment of fine detail can be reduced by halo artifacts. The intensity of contrast, i.e. the difference in brightness between the background and specimen, is constant and not variable; it is determined by the specification of the phase ring within the phase contrast lens and dependent on the specific phase differences between the specimen and its surrounding medium. Interference contrast images are free from halo artifacts, but their contrast may be lower than in corresponding phase contrast or dark field images, especially, when transparent specimens are examined in thinlayer preparations.

DualBeam instruments that combine the imaging capability of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with the cutting and deposition capability of a focused ion beam (FIB) provide biologists with a powerful tool for investigating three-dimensional structure with nanoscale (1 nm-100 nm) resolution. Ever since Van Leeuwenhoek used the first microscope to describe bacteria more than 300 years ago, microscopy has played a central role in scientists' efforts to understand biological systems. Light microscopy is generally limited to a useful resolution of about a micrometer. More recently the use of confocal and electron microscopy has enabled investigations at higher resolution. Used with fluorescent markers, confocal microscopy can detect and localize molecular scale features, but its imaging resolution is still limited. SEM is capable of nanometer resolution, but is limited to the near surface region of the sample.

The well-known recipe for serial reconstruction in microscopy consists of the following six steps: fix and embed specimen, cut and mount sections for microscopy, image sections, align images in the computer, identify and trace profiles in images, generate three-dimensional (3D) visualizations. The free software program Reconstruct facilitates the final steps of this process for many types of microscopy, including scanning electron or ion beam microscopy applied to material and light microscopy applied to biological samples. We describe here how serial sectioning and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be combined with the Reconstruct software to generate large volumes of soft tissue ultrastructure for analysis.

The semiconductor industry has unquestionably entered the realm of nanotechnology. Critical dimensions of many features are specified in nanometers. Gate oxides are only a few nanometers thick. Barrier and seed layers for copper processes are not much more. Gate lengths are forecast at less than 20 nm by the end of the decade. Additionally, the drive to increase device density is leading to the adoption of FinFET and other new transistor designs that include complex three-dimensional structure. Even conventional planar CMOS designs now incorporate processes such as damascene interconnects that are inherently three dimensional. The combined need for higher spatial resolution and cross-sectional imaging of complex structures has led to a significant increase in the demand for scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and (TEM) in semiconductor manufacturing operations.

In addition to other determining factors, the optical quality of images is strongly dependent on the quality of the lenses and the spectral characteristics of the incident light in light microscopy as well as in astronomy. Chromatic aberration is one of the most important reasons for limitations of the hotgraphic quality. Ideal lenses that are completely free from such aberrations do not exist. A little chromatic aberration remains in “high-end” apochromatic lenses. Moreover, several lenses for special applications, e.g. microscopic objectives for long focal distances and thick glass plates or objectives with an integrated iris diaphragm for observations in dark field, are mostly not apochromatically corrected because of their optical compromises.

To one degree or another, most materials experience some type of interaction with a large number of diverse environments. Often, such interactions impair a material's usefulness as a result of the deterioration of its mechanical properties (e.g., ductility and strength), other physical properties, or appearance. Deteriorative mechanisms are different for metals, ceramic materials, and polymers. In metals, there is actual material loss either by dissolution (corrosion) or by the formation of non-metallic scale or film (oxidation).

Everyday objects and structures are made of well known metals like aluminium, brass, bronzes, copper, titanium, zinc.

Serial sectioning of TEM blocks is a common technique. The more sections that are desired, the more complex the procedure becomes. Some of the problems faced are staining without losing or obscuring sections, appropriate block trimming, finding the area of interest in the next section, transferring sections to the grid. Here, I relate a set of techniques that permit the microtomist to regularly get over 100 consecutive serial sections on a single slot grid. Much of what is discussed below is not new, but by putting all of these techniques together I believe that a powerful tool for TEM is presented.

The first issue that must be addressed is how to stain the sections on the grid without losing sections or obscuring sections with staining artifacts (e.g. lead pepper). The simplest solution is to stain the sample with both uranium and lead prior to embedding and not stain the sections on the grid.

We describe here a project to illustrate the diversity and abundance of marine bacteriophages undertaken by two high school students participating in The Scripps Research Institute's High School Student Research Education Program. The students were interns in the Automated Molecular Imaging group over the summer of 2007, during which time they acquired high magnification transmission electron microscopy images of bacteriophage filtered from samples collected from nearby marine waters. The basic protocols for sample collection, grid preparation, and electron microscopy imaging are described in this manuscript along with some of the images of the bacteriophages.

Since the pioneering mineralogical and crystallographic studies of the 1960s and 1970s it has been regarded as a fundamental tenant of earth sciences that the growth of minerals, and especially of magmatic mineral phases, depends upon the physico-chemical state of the growth environment. Meanwhile, based on extensive empirical and experimental approaches, some factors controlling crystal growth and, as a consequence of that, crystal shape or morphology can be detected and documented. Therefore, the chemistry and temperature of the growth environment, as well as its content of volatile phases, have been found to be key to understanding the crystallization processes.