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

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scanning electron microscope British  

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of scanning electron microscope

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Whatever process occurred to do this preserved the original brain tissue so well that individual neurons can actually be seen using a scanning electron microscope.

From Salon • Mar. 4, 2025

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

Omenetto and Guidetti used a new kind of scanning electron microscope that not only reveals the structure of the material, but also provides an elemental analysis.

From Science Daily • Sep. 18, 2023

Under a scanning electron microscope, the pollen grains—which resembled inflated arrowheads—were reminiscent of pollen from tiny trees and shrubs in Asia that belong to the genus Symplocos.

From Scientific American • Jan. 12, 2023