The first Field Emission Guns (FEG) on TEM/STEM instruments were introduced by Philips in 1977. In the past decade these EM400-series microscopes have been very successful, especially in analytical electron microscopy, where the high currents in small probes are particularly suitable. In High Resolution Electron Holography, the high coherence of the FEG has made it possible to approach atomic resolution.Most of these TEM/STEM systems are based on a cold field emitter (CFE). There are, however, a number of disadvantages to CFE’s, because of their very small emission region: the maximum current is limited (a strong disadvantage for high-resolution TEM imaging) and the emission is unstable, requiring special measures to reduce the strong FEG-induced noise. Thermal field emitters (TFE), i.e. a zirconiated field emitter source operating in the thermal or Schottky mode, have been shown to be a viable and attractive alternative to CFE’s. TFE’s have larger emission regions, providing much higher maximum currents, better stability, and reduced sensitivity to vacuum conditions as well as mechanical and electrical interferences.
