Cryo-TEM involves performing Transmission Electron Microscopy TEM analysis while keeping the sample at cryogenic temperatures, i.e. -170°C (or 103 K).
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is a technique that images a sample using an electron beam. High energy electrons (80-200 keV) are transmitted through electron transparent samples (~100 nm thick) and imaged on a plane.
The main reasons for the use of low temperature are
- The study of thin, frozen slices of suspensions, allowing for morphology studies of particles in their dispersed state.
- The reduction of sample heating by the electron beam and thus the reduction of potential beam damage of sensitive materials
- The study of low-temperature phases of crystalline materials