August 16, 2007 — Delong Instruments says its LVEM5 is the only benchtop transmission electron microscope (TEM) available. The unit’s footprint is reportedly more than 90% smaller than its closest cousin, and the latest version — which introduces a new 2K by 2K digital CCD camera — boasts significant improvements in system design, user controls, and operating software.

The benchtop LVEM5 system now includes TEM mode with resolution of 2.5 nm, optional SEM mode (back-scattered electron detector) with resolution of 2 nm, optional STEM mode with resolution of 2 nm and electron diffraction with a 100 nm minimum probe size.

The entire LVEM5 system uses 2 internal ion getter pumps and one floor turbo molecular pump to maintain high vacuum levels at the source (field emission gun), specimen chamber and specimen airlock site.

The LVEM5 system software promises seamless transitioning between imaging modes so that the same sample — or region of interest within a sample — can be observed in all modes.

The new version has a free movement control panel that allows the user to operate the system in a comfortable, ergonomic manner. It has already been installed at several institutions including Howard University, The Georgia Institute of Technology, and The University of Montreal.