A high vacuum photoelectron microscope for the study of biological specimens.

A photoelectron microscope (photoemission electron microscope) has been designed and built for the study of organic and biological samples. The microscope is an oil-free stainless steel high vacuum instrument pumped by a titanium sublimation pump, an ion pump, and molecular sieve roughing pumps. The electron lenses are of the electrostatic unipotential type. The microscope is equipped with a dewar for sample cooling, an internal cryogenic camera, TV-image intensifier, and vibration isolation support. Applications include studies of biological cell surfaces, photosynthetic membranes and aromatic chemical carcinogens. A representative micrograph of mouse 3T3 cells is included. In some respects, photoelectron micrographs resemble scanning electron micrographs, but the basis for contrast is different in these two techniques.