Evaluating the Use of Synthetic Replicas for SEM Identification of Bloodstains (with Emphasis on Archaeological and Ethnographic Artifacts)

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1504-1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Policarp Hortolà

AbstractSome archaeological or ethnographic specimens are unavailable for direct examination using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) due to methodological obstacles or legal issues. In order to assess the feasibility of using SEM synthetic replicas for the identification of bloodstains (BSs) via morphology of red blood cells (RBCs), three fragments of different natural raw material (inorganic, stone; plant, wood; animal, shell) were smeared with peripheral human blood. Afterwards, molds and casts of the bloodstained areas were made using vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) silicone impression and polyurethane (PU) resin casting material, respectively. Then, the original samples and the resulting casts were coated with gold and examined in secondary-electron mode using a high-vacuum SEM. Results suggest that PU resin casts obtained from VPS silicone molds can preserve RBC morphology in BSs, and consequently that synthetic replicas are feasible for SEM identification of BSs on cultural heritage specimens made of natural raw materials. Although the focus of this study was on BSs, the method reported in this paper may be applicable to organic residues other than blood, as well as to the surface of other specimens when, for any reason, the original is unavailable for an SEM.

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Policarp Hortolà

AbstractStudies of human bloodstains on nonbiological materials have been previously carried out using a high-vacuum scanning electron microscope (HV-SEM) in secondary-electron mode without any sample treatment. To assess whether biological substrates can affect the morphology of human erythrocytes in bloodstains, three fragments of different biological material (bone, shell, and wood) were smeared with peripheral human blood. Afterward, the bloodstains were directly examined in secondary-electron mode by an HV-SEM following a procedure initially standardized to be used in uncoated human bloodstains on stone. The obtained results suggest that HV-SEM is suitable for examining untreated bloodstains on biological substrate and that the morphology of erythrocytes in human bloodstains is not affected by the biological nature of the substrate. A cautionary issue regarding bloodstains on nondehydrated biological substrates is that the waiting time required for initiating the HV-SEM examination is by far higher than when using inorganic bloodstain substrates.


Author(s):  
James B. Pawley

Used in the secondary electron mode, the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) produces an image of the outside surface of a microscopic sample which looks very similar to what one might expect to see if the sample was a diffusely illuminated macroscopic object viewed with the unaided eye. Part of the familiarity of such an image is associated with the fact that one seems to look at the sample rather than through it, as in the case with the conventional electron microscope or the high resolution light microscope. A resulting limitation is the fact that an object of interest cannot be observed if it is below the outer surface. It has been shown (Gane and Bowden 1968) that useful surface hardness information can be obtained on a micro scale by observing the deformation produced when a small stylus, attached to a D'Arsonval meter movement, is brought to bear on the surface of a sample while it is in the SEM.


2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 04DB12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichi Ogawa ◽  
William Thompson ◽  
Lewis Stern ◽  
Larry Scipioni ◽  
John Notte ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Thompson ◽  
Lewis Stern ◽  
Dave Ferranti ◽  
Chuong Huynh ◽  
Larry Scipioni ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1733
Author(s):  
Л.С. Коханчик

AbstractFerroelectric domain structures formed by an electron beam in lithium niobate crystals are studied using low-voltage SEM microscopy. The structures are formed in crystals with different conductivity, including samples with high-resistance congruent composition (CLN) and samples with conductivity increased by reductive annealing (RLN). The potential nature of the contrast of the domain structures observed in the secondary electron mode depending on the conductivity of the samples and the direction of spontaneous polarization of the domains is analyzed. It is assumed that the domain contrast in CLN crystals is associated with long-lived charges localized near domain walls and in the irradiated areas. The recorded domain structures in the CLN crystals are visualized on polar and nonpolar cuts. In the RLN crystals with improved conductivity compared to CLN, the potential contrast of the periodic domain structures is found only on the polar cuts, where vector P _ s of the domains is perpendicular to the irradiated surface. This contrast is likely because the field of the spontaneous electric polarization charges influences the secondary electrons.


Author(s):  
A. J. Bleeker ◽  
P. Kruit

Combining of the high spatial resolution of a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope and the wealth of information from the secondary electrons and Auger spectra opens up new possibilities for materials research. In a prototype instrument at the Delft University of Technology we have shown that it is possible from the optical point of view to combine STEM and Auger spectroscopy [1]. With an Electron Energy Loss Spectrometer attached to the microscope it also became possible to perform coincidence measurements between the secondary electron signal and the EELS signal. We measured Auger spectra of carbon aluminium and Argon gas showing energy resolutions better than 1eV [2]. The coincidence measurements on carbon with a time resolution of 5 ns yielded basic insight in secondary electron emission processes [3]. However, for serious Auger spectroscopy, the specimen needs to be in Ultra High Vacuum. ( 10−10 Torr ). At this moment a new setup is in its last phase of construction.


Author(s):  
S.A. Wight

Measurements of electrons striking the sample in the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) are needed to begin to understand the effect of the presence of the gas on analytical measurements. Accurate beam current is important to x-ray microanalysis and it is typically measured with a faraday cup. A faraday cup (Figure 1) was constructed from a carbon block embedded in non-conductive epoxy with a 45 micrometer bore platinum aperture over the hole. Currents were measured with an electrometer and recorded as instrument parameters were varied.Instrument parameters investigated included working distance, chamber pressure, condenser percentage, and accelerating voltage. The conditions studied were low vacuum with gaseous secondary electron detector (GSED) voltage on; low vacuum with GSED voltage off; and high vacuum (GSED off). The base conditions were 30 kV, 667 Pa (5 Torr) water vapor, 100,000x magnification with the beam centered inside aperture, GSED voltage at 370 VDC, condenser at 50%, and working distance at 19.5 mm. All modifications of instrument parameters were made from these conditions.


Author(s):  
Mohan Krishnamurthy ◽  
Jeff S. Drucker ◽  
John A. Venablest

Secondary Electron Imaging (SEI) has become a useful mode of studying surfaces in SEM[1] and STEM[2,3] instruments. Samples have been biassed (b-SEI) to provide increased sensitivity to topographic and thin film deposits in ultra high vacuum (UHV)-SEM[1,4]; but this has not generally been done in previous STEM studies. The recently developed UHV-STEM ( codenamed MIDAS) at ASU has efficient collection of secondary electrons using a 'parallelizer' and full sample preparation system[5]. Here we report in-situ deposition and annealing studies on the Ge/Si(100) epitaxial system, and the observation of surface steps on vicinal Si(100) using b-SEI under UHV conditions in MIDAS.Epitaxial crystal growth has previously been studied using SEM and SAM based experiments [4]. The influence of surface defects such as steps on epitaxial growth requires study with high spatial resolution, which we report for the Ge/Si(100) system. Ge grows on Si(100) in the Stranski-Krastonov growth mode wherein it forms pseudomorphic layers for the first 3-4 ML (critical thickness) and beyond which it clusters into islands[6]. In the present experiment, Ge was deposited onto clean Si(100) substrates misoriented 1° and 5° toward <110>. This was done using a mini MBE Knudsen cell at base pressure ~ 5×10-11 mbar and at typical rates of 0.1ML/min (1ML =0.14nm). Depositions just above the critical thickness were done for substrates kept at room temperature, 375°C and 525°C. The R T deposits were annealed at 375°C and 525°C for various times. Detailed studies were done of the initial stages of clustering into very fine (∼1nm) Ge islands and their subsequent coarsening and facetting with longer anneals. From the particle size distributions as a function of time and temperature, useful film growth parameters have been obtained. Fig. 1 shows a b-SE image of Ge island size distribution for a R T deposit and anneal at 525°C. Fig.2(a) shows the distribution for a deposition at 375°C and Fig.2(b) shows at a higher magnification a large facetted island of Ge. Fig.3 shows a distribution of very fine islands from a 525°C deposition. A strong contrast is obtained from these islands which are at most a few ML thick and mottled structure can be seen in the background between the islands, especially in Fig.2(a) and Fig.3.


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