Low Magnification

Microscopes are often judged on their ability to produce very high magnification images. Whilst there is often a requirement to obtain images at 100,000x or more the SEM can also operate at very low magnification. The CamScan range of SEMs can image down to a magnification <3x enabling relatively large areas to be observed such as a complete coin or large thumb print.

The ability to operate at low magnification is significantly enhanced by the very large depth of focus that is achieved by the SEM this being some 300 times greater than a conventional light microscope.