Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy

Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy is a technique used to produce high resolution images with a high depth of field. VPSEM differs from traditional SEM in that the instrument chamber is operated at higher pressures (~10 Pa to 3,000 Pa) which allows for imaging and analysis of insulating samples without the need to apply a conductive coating.

This is convenient for when it is undesirable to coat a sample or the sample is too large for the coating systems.

With VPSEM, we can examine a sample’s topography, structure, and its elemental composition under magnifications of up to ~10X to ~20,000X. Multiple electron and x-ray detectors can be employed to expose even more information about the characteristics of a sample.