Choosing the Right Accelerating Voltage for SEM (An Introduction for Beginners)

Abstract

Historically, most SEM operators used accelerating voltages that were fairly high, quite often in the range of 15–20 kV. Now progress in electron optics has made low-voltage observations a routine mode of SEM operation. The greatly improved range of utilized accelerating voltages provides the SEM operator with additional flexibility and with additional responsibilities for choosing the right SEM settings for image acquisition.