Cross-polarized light as an imaging technique for graptolites

Mature human dental enamel has presented investigators with several difficulties in ultramicrotomy of specimens for electron microscopy due to its high degree of mineralization. This study explores the possibility of combining ion-milling and high voltage electron microscopy as a means of circumventing the problems of ultramicrotomy.A longitudinal section of an extracted human third molar was ground to a thickness of about 30 um and polarized light micrographs were taken. The specimen was attached to a single hole grid and thinned by argon-ion bombardment at 15° incidence while rotating at 15 rpm. The beam current in each of two guns was 50 μA with an accelerating voltage of 4 kV. A 20 nm carbon coating was evaporated onto the specimen to prevent an electron charge from building up during electron microscopy.

Download Full-text

The dislocation structure of a 10° [110] tilt boundary in silicon

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100074446 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 114-115

Author(s):

B. Cunningham ◽

D.G. Ast

Keyword(s):

Dislocation Structure ◽

Tilt Angle ◽

Imaging Technique ◽

Diamond Lattice ◽

Tilt Boundary ◽

Formation Mechanisms ◽

Diffraction Contrast ◽

Lattice Fringe ◽

Tilt Boundaries ◽

Chemically Vapor Deposited

There have Been a number of studies of low-angle, θ < 4°, [10] tilt boundaries in the diamond lattice. Dislocations with Burgers vectors a/2<110>, a/2<112>, a<111> and a<001> have been reported in melt-grown bicrystals of germanium, and dislocations with Burgers vectors a<001> and a/2<112> have been reported in hot-pressed bicrystals of silicon. Most of the dislocations were found to be dissociated, the dissociation widths being dependent on the tilt angle. Possible dissociation schemes and formation mechanisms for the a<001> and a<111> dislocations from the interaction of lattice dislocations have recently been given.The present study reports on the dislocation structure of a 10° [10] tilt boundary in chemically vapor deposited silicon. The dislocations in the boundary were spaced about 1-3nm apart, making them difficult to resolve by conventional diffraction contrast techniques. The dislocation structure was therefore studied by the lattice-fringe imaging technique.

Download Full-text

X-ray microtomography

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100107058 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 998-999

Author(s):

H.W. Deckman ◽

B.F. Flannery ◽

J.H. Dunsmuir ◽

K.D' Amico

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Internal Structure ◽

Imaging Technique ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Tissue Structure ◽

Individual Element ◽

X Ray ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Panoramic Imaging ◽

Three Dimensional Images

We have developed a new X-ray microscope which produces complete three dimensional images of samples. The microscope operates by performing X-ray tomography with unprecedented resolution. Tomography is a non-invasive imaging technique that creates maps of the internal structure of samples from measurement of the attenuation of penetrating radiation. As conventionally practiced in medical Computed Tomography (CT), radiologists produce maps of bone and tissue structure in several planar sections that reveal features with 1mm resolution and 1% contrast. Microtomography extends the capability of CT in several ways. First, the resolution which approaches one micron, is one thousand times higher than that of the medical CT. Second, our approach acquires and analyses the data in a panoramic imaging format that directly produces three-dimensional maps in a series of contiguous stacked planes. Typical maps available today consist of three hundred planar sections each containing 512x512 pixels. Finally, and perhaps of most import scientifically, microtomography using a synchrotron X-ray source, allows us to generate maps of individual element.

Download Full-text

Identification of calcium oxalate crystals in dried or fixed tobacco leaf

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100111550 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

pp. 288-289

Author(s):

Vicki L. Baliga ◽

Mary Ellen Counts

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Calcium Oxalate ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Calcium Oxalate Crystals ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Scanning Electron

Calcium is an important element in the growth and development of plants and one form of calcium is calcium oxalate. Calcium oxalate has been found in leaf seed, stem material plant tissue culture, fungi and lichen using one or more of the following methods—polarized light microscopy (PLM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction.Two methods are presented here for qualitatively estimating calcium oxalate in dried or fixed tobacco (Nicotiana) leaf from different stalk positions using PLM. SEM, coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS), and powder x-ray diffraction were used to verify that the crystals observed in the dried leaf with PLM were calcium oxalate.

Download Full-text

TEM Study of a Tilt Boundary in Hot-Pressed Silicon

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100097454 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 160-161

Author(s):

C. B. Carter ◽

J. Rose ◽

D. G. Ast

Keyword(s):

Electron Diffraction ◽

Imaging Technique ◽

Interface Structure ◽

Large Area ◽

Weak Beam ◽

Lattice Fringe ◽

Electron Diffraction Technique ◽

Tilt Boundaries ◽

Beam Technique ◽

Twist Boundaries

The hot-pressing technique which has been successfully used to manufacture twist boundaries in silicon has now been used to form tilt boundaries in this material. In the present study, weak-beam imaging, lattice-fringe imaging and electron diffraction techniques have been combined to identify different features of the interface structure. The weak-beam technique gives an overall picture of the geometry of the boundary and in particular allows steps in the plane of the boundary which are normal to the dislocation lines to be identified. It also allows pockets of amorphous SiO2 remaining in the interface to be recognized. The lattice-fringe imaging technique allows the boundary plane parallel to the dislocation to be identified. Finally the electron diffraction technique allows the periodic structure of the boundary to be evaluated over a large area - this is particularly valuable when the dislocations are closely spaced - and can also provide information on the structural width of the interface.

Download Full-text

Differential polarization imaging of sickled cells

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100102390 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 62-63

Author(s):

Marcos F. Maestre

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Theoretical Approach ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Polarization Microscopy ◽

Spectroscopic Techniques ◽

Polarization Imaging ◽

Circularly Polarized Light ◽

Circularly Polarized ◽

Microscopic Scale ◽

Chiral Structures

Recently we have developed a form of polarization microscopy that forms images using optical properties that have previously been limited to macroscopic samples. This has given us a new window into the distribution of structure on a microscopic scale. We have coined the name differential polarization microscopy to identify the images obtained that are due to certain polarization dependent effects. Differential polarization microscopy has its origins in various spectroscopic techniques that have been used to study longer range structures in solution as well as solids. The differential scattering of circularly polarized light has been shown to be dependent on the long range chiral order, both theoretically and experimentally. The same theoretical approach was used to show that images due to differential scattering of circularly polarized light will give images dependent on chiral structures. With large helices (greater than the wavelength of light) the pitch and radius of the helix could be measured directly from these images.

Download Full-text

Defects of Platelet Function Recognized by X-Ray Imaging and Scanning Electron Microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100119806 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 610-613

Author(s):

M.G. Baldini ◽

S. Morinaga ◽

D. Minasian ◽

R. Feder ◽

D. Sayre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Cell Biology ◽

Imaging Technique ◽

Human Platelets ◽

X Rays ◽

X Ray ◽

X Ray Imaging ◽

Complex Phenomena ◽

Scanning Electron

Contact X-ray imaging is presently developing as an important imaging technique in cell biology. Our recent studies on human platelets have demonstrated that the cytoskeleton of these cells contains photondense structures which can preferentially be imaged by soft X-ray imaging. Our present research has dealt with platelet activation, i.e., the complex phenomena which precede platelet appregation and are associated with profound changes in platelet cytoskeleton. Human platelets suspended in plasma were used. Whole cell mounts were fixed and dehydrated, then exposed to a stationary source of soft X-rays as previously described. Developed replicas and respective grids were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Download Full-text

High-resolution measurement of birefringent fine structure in living cells using a new polarized light microscope

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100136647 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 54-55

Author(s):

Rudolf Oldenbourg

Keyword(s):

Light Microscope ◽

Fluorescent Dyes ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Processing System ◽

Video Camera ◽

Molecular Organization ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Image Recording ◽

Birefringent Crystal ◽

Technological Advances

The recent renaissance of the light microsope is fueled in part by technological advances in components on the periphery of the microscope, such as the laser as illumination source, electronic image recording (video), computer assisted image analysis and the biochemistry of fluorescent dyes for labeling specimens. After great progress in these peripheral parts, it seems timely to examine the optics itself and ask how progress in the periphery facilitates the use of new optical components and of new optical designs inside the microscope. Some results of this fruitful reflection are presented in this symposium.We have considered the polarized light microscope, and developed a design that replaces the traditional compensator, typically a birefringent crystal plate, with a precision universal compensator made of two liquid crystal variable retarders. A video camera and digital image processing system provide fast measurements of specimen anisotropy (retardance magnitude and azimuth) at ALL POINTS of the image forming the field of view. The images document fine structural and molecular organization within a thin optical section of the specimen.

Download Full-text