scanning electron microscope

American  

noun

1. a device in which the specimen is examined point by point directly in a moving electron beam, and electrons reflected by the specimen are used to form a magnified, three-dimensional image on a television screen. SEM

---

scanning electron microscope British  

noun

1. a type of electron microscope that produces a three-dimensional image

---

scanning electron microscope Scientific  

/ skăn′ĭng /

1. An electron microscope that moves a narrowly focused beam of electrons across an object and detects the patterns made by the electrons scattered by the object and the electrons knocked loose from the object. From these patterns a three-dimensional image of the object is created.

---

Etymology

Origin of scanning electron microscope

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

In an earlier experiment, Doshi used a scanning electron microscope to examine nanostructures on a polymer film.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

When viewed under a scanning electron microscope, the powder resembles tiny basketballs with billions of holes, said study leader Zihui Zhou, a materials chemist who is working on his PhD at UC Berkeley.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2024

But it had to abandon millions of dollars of equipment including a facility for synthesizing oxide nanopowders, a scanning electron microscope, and a cryogenic site for helium production.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 17, 2024

But a powerful scanning electron microscope allowed us to see details of plant cells.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2022

When the researchers scratched away the outer layers of these scales with sandpaper and acid and then observed them under a scanning electron microscope, they were stunned by the level of complexity they found.

From Scientific American • Dec. 2, 2022