With AFM surface topography, morphology, surface chemistry can be known. TEM is a technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through an ultra-thin specimen, interacting with the specimen as it passes through. It uses a high voltage electron beam to create an image and is used to characterize the microstructure of materials with very high spatial resolution.

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In AFM probe scans, a laser aimed at the non-contact side of the cantilever measures the amount of interaction between the tip and the sample. With this setup, AFM is able to determine the surface topography of material on the atomic scale vertically, and the nanometer scale horizontally. From AFM you may extract a wide range of information: 3D topography, mechanical properties (storage and loss moduli, Harness elastic modulus), etc.

TEM is a super-resolution imaging technique that produces a 2D image using electrons instead of photons.TEM offers valuable information on the inner structure of the sample, such as crystal structure, morphology and stress state information.

There is Wiki...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_electron_microscopy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_force_microscopy

Dear Salih Abbas Habeeb,

Compared with 2D TEM, 3D AFM images are obtained without expensive sample preparation & yield more information. I

In short, TEM gives infromation regarding structure and morphology, while AFM gives true surface topography & various types of surface measurements.

Detail Explanation of TEM and AFM :

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) :

TEM is technique used to view thin (very small) specimens (tissue sections, molecules, etc).

TEM is analogous in many ways to the conventional light microscope. TEM operates on similar basic principles to those of an optic microscope, where electrons are used instead of light. A highly coherent beam of electrons is directed towards a sample which is specially prepared to thickness (< 200 nm) so that electrons can transmit through it.

An image is formed from the interaction of the electrons transmitted through the specimen; the image is magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, on a layer of photographic film, or to be detected by a sensor such as a CCD camera. TEM is based on transmitted electrons.

TEMs are capable of imaging at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes, owing to the small de Broglie wavelength of electrons.

TEM uses an accelerated beam of electrons, which passes through a very thin specimen to provide the details about internal composition, therefore it can show many characteristics of the sample, such as morphology, crystallization, stress or even magnetic domains.

TEM has much higher resolution than SEM.

TEM is used for imaging of dislocations, tiny precipitates, grain boundaries and other defect structures in solids.

TEM application is in cancer research, virology, materials science, pollution, nanotechnology & semiconductor research.

Drawbacks of TEM :

In TEM many materials require extensive sample preparation to produce a sample thin enough to be electron transparent, which makes TEM analysis a relatively time consuming process with a low throughput of samples.

In TEM the structure of the sample may also be changed during the preparation process.

In TEM the field of view is relatively small, raising the possibility that the region analyzed may not be characteristic of the whole sample.

In TEM there is potential that the sample may be damaged by the electron beam, particularly in the case of biological materials.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) :

AFM is the most versatile & powerful technique for studying samples at NANOSCALE.

AFM is versatile because it can not only image in 3D topography, but it also provides various types of surface measurements.

AFM is powerful because an AFM can generate images at atomic resolution with angstrom scale resolution height information, with minimum sample preparation.

AFM is a technique used to visualize any molecules that are chemically or physically adsorbed onto a solid substrate.

AFM can generate an accurate topographic map of the surface features. AFM is used to measure and localize many different forces, including adhesion strength, magnetic forces and mechanical properties.

AFM enables the imaging of almost any type of surface, including polymers, ceramics, composites, glass & biological samples.

AFM consists of a sharp tip that is aproximately 10to 20 nm in diameter, which is attached to a cantilever. AFM tips & cantilivers are micro-fabricated from Si or Si3N4. The tip moves in response to tip-surface interactions, and this movement is measured by focusing a laser beam with a photodiode.

AFM is operated in two modes:

01. Contact mode: AFM tip is in continuous contat with the surface. It is only used for specific measurement, such as surface curve measurements.

02. Tapping mode: AFM cantilever is vibrated above the sample surface such that the tip is only in intermittent contact with the surface. It helps to reduce shear forces associated withthe tip movement. This mode is recommended mode used for AFM imaging.

Comparison between TEM and AFM :

01. Despite of TEM high resolution and versatility, this technology is frequently hampered by both the complicated procedure for sample preparation and the operative condition of analysis.

02. Considering the scanning probe microscopies, AFM represents an extraordinary tool for the detailed characterization of submicron-size structure as the surface functionalization at the atomic scale.

03. AFM & TEM help in better understanding of the chemico-physical features of nanocarriers.

04. AFM and TEM give high resolution outcomes and should be chosen depending on specific the nature of surface-ligands.

05. AFM allows to discriminate on the qualitative evaluation of ligands of different nature, without any additional treatment and without operating in a vacuum environment.

I hope I have answered your question.

With Best Wishes,

Samir G. Pandya

@ Samir G. Pandya

Yield more information? How delightful!

Just one little question: what have you done to be banned by google? ;-)