{ "id": "epzkkejffe", "slug": "spectromicroscopy", "title": "Spectromicroscopy", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "physical", "label": "Physical world and mathematics", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/physical" }, { "id": "physical.physics", "label": "Physics", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/physical.physics" }, { "id": "physical.physics.practice", "label": "Physics methods, practice, and community", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/physical.physics.practice" }, { "id": "physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods", "label": "Electron microscopy methods", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods", "label": "Non-geographic · 1946 to 2000: Electron microscopy methods", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods", "path": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo", "label": "Non-geographic", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946", "label": "Non-geographic · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.physical", "label": "Physical world and mathematics", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.physical" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics", "label": "Physics", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice", "label": "Physics methods, practice, and community", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods", "label": "Electron microscopy methods", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t1946.physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Spectromicroscopy combines an imaging microscope with a spectrometer, recording a spectrum at every pixel so that chemical composition and electronic structure can be mapped at microscopic resolution.", "snippet": "Spectromicroscopy combines an imaging microscope with a spectrometer, recording a spectrum at every pixel so that chemical composition and electronic structure can be mapped at microscopic resolution.", "node": "physical.physics.practice.electron-microscopy-methods", "markdown": "# Spectromicroscopy\n\nSpectromicroscopy combines an imaging microscope with a spectrometer, recording a spectrum at every pixel so that the chemical composition or electronic structure of a sample can be mapped at microscopic resolution.[1](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147360) The output is not a single picture but a data cube: spatially resolved, quantitative distributions of chemical components, and in some modes magnetic alignment or crystal-structure information.[1](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147360) Among the X-ray implementations are scanning transmission [X-ray microscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-microscopy) (STXM), transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM), and photoelectron microscopes (PEEM, X-PEEM, SPEM), which deliver chemical speciation based on near-edge X-ray absorption (NEXAFS) contrast.[2](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/aph-pubs/j_el_spect_144_2005_259-review.html) Scanning a focused X-ray microbeam while recording fluorescence or absorption spectra extends the same idea to elemental and oxidation-state mapping in the hard X-ray range.[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/) • [4](https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/xrs.1300220405)\n\n| Key fact | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Output | A spectrum per pixel, converted into quantitative component-thickness maps | [1](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147360) |\n| Main contrast mechanisms | NEXAFS/XANES inner-shell absorption, XPS chemical shifts, XMCD dichroism, XRF elemental yield | [5](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049500016447) • [6](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf) • [3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/) |\n| Spatial resolution | STXM ~30 nm typical (10 nm half-period reported); XPEEM 10–20 nm; ptychography down to 5–8 nm | [7](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc4904) • [6](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf) • [8](https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2014.207) |\n| Spectral resolution | ~100 meV at the C K-edge (STXM); \\( E/\\Delta E \\approx 5000 \\) (TXM) | [9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) • [10](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/content/pdf/2190-4286-6-61.pdf) |\n| Sample environment | STXM/TXM accept hydrated samples (water window); PEEM/SPEM require UHV and probe the top ~10 nm | [11](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911) |\n| Dose | STXM damage ~100× lower than electron imaging; ptychography dose ~6× lower than STXM | [9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) • [12](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c04620) |\n| Standard analysis software | aXis2000 and MANTiS | [1](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147360) • [13](https://doi.org/10.1107/s1600577514013964) |\n\n## How it works\n\nIn NEXAFS microscopy, inner-shell electronic excitation provides the chemically sensitive image contrast: absorption at a core-level edge depends on the local bonding, so images taken near an edge distinguish chemical states.[5](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049500016447) Three operating modes are used: point microspectroscopy, analytical microscopy at fixed contrast energies, and full image-sequence spectromicroscopy.[5](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049500016447) In photoelectron microscopes, the secondary electron yield is proportional to the photon absorption coefficient, so scanning photon energy while imaging the emitted electrons reproduces the absorption spectrum at every pixel.[14](https://cibm.ch/wp-content/uploads/1-s2.0-S0368204809001236-main.pdf) In XPS mode the microscope detects core-level electrons with kinetic energy \\( E_{\\mathrm{kin}} = h\\nu - E_{\\mathrm{bin}} - \\phi \\), where \\( E_{\\mathrm{bin}} \\) is the binding energy and \\( \\phi \\) the work function; surface sensitivity is greatest where the electron inelastic mean free path is minimal, generally between 50 and 150 eV.[15](https://indico.ictp.it/event/a11156/session/49/contribution/30/material/1/0.pdf)\n\nThe water window (roughly 284–532 eV) is central for biology:[32](https://repository.gsi.de/record/365933/files/s41377-025-02057-9.pdf?subformat=pdfa) water is transparent to soft X-rays there while carbon is strongly absorbed, giving natural contrast in wet samples.[11](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911) • [16](https://library.csbe-scgab.ca/docs/meetings/2006/CSBE06123.pdf) Magnetic contrast comes from [X-ray magnetic circular dichroism](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-magnetic-circular-dichroism) (XMCD), demonstrated by imaging the bits of a magnetic recording disk with circular polarization at the Fe \\( L_{3} \\) edge.[6](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf) [X-ray fluorescence](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-fluorescence) gives multi-element trace sensitivity but loses bonding information, whereas XANES resolves oxidation states and ligand coordination at higher energy resolution.[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/)\n\n## How it is done\n\nA soft X-ray STXM experiment starts with sample preparation: carbon-edge samples need roughly 50–300 nm thickness, and the optimum at the C 1s edge is about 100 nm.[9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) • [11](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911) The zone plate (ringed diffractive lens focusing X-rays) focuses monochromatic light to a ~50 nm spot, and the sample is raster-scanned; a 300×300 pixel image takes about 30 s at 0.2–0.5 ms dwell per pixel.[9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) An energy stack of images is then acquired, aligned by cross-correlation until X/Y shifts are below 1 pixel, and converted to optical density,\n\n\\[ D = -\\log(I/I_{0}) = \\mu \\rho t \\]\n\nwhich is linear with specimen thickness, unlike the exponentially decaying transmitted flux.[17](https://sm.lightsource.ca/media/uploads/stxm-data-analysis-webinar-4dec2020-jianwang-final.pdf) Each pixel's spectrum is fitted to reference spectra by singular value decomposition or least-squares stack fitting,\n\n\\[ \\mathrm{OD}(j,k) = a_{0} + \\sum_{i} a_{i} \\cdot \\mathrm{OD}_{\\mathrm{model},i} \\]\n\nyielding component maps whose values are density×thickness products; residuals and refitting of masked regions check quality.[9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) • [17](https://sm.lightsource.ca/media/uploads/stxm-data-analysis-webinar-4dec2020-jianwang-final.pdf) SVD-based quantitative mapping of structured polymers was published by I. N. Koprinarov and colleagues in 2002 in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.[18](https://doi.org/10.1021/jp013281l) The MANTiS program (Mirna Lerotic and colleagues, 2014, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation) implements PCA, cluster analysis, and the decomposition, with thickness maps \\( t = u^{-1} \\cdot D \\) when spectra are known, plus non-negative matrix approximation to avoid unphysical negative weightings.[13](https://doi.org/10.1107/s1600577514013964) Three-dimensional chemical mapping by angle-scan STXM tomography was published by Göran Johansson and colleagues in 2007 in Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.[19](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049507029962)\n\n## Origin\n\nThe crossed-mirror grazing-incidence X-ray optics that underlie later microfocus instruments were published by Paul Kirkpatrick and A. V. Baez in 1948 in the Journal of the Optical Society of America.[20](https://doi.org/10.1364/josa.38.000766) A scanning X-ray microscope using synchrotron radiation, performing both transmission and fluorescence microscopy, was reported by Paul Horowitz and John A. Howell in 1972 in Science.[21](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.178.4061.608) The term itself appears in the title of the 1981 Nature paper \"Photoelectron spectromicroscopy\" by G. Beamson, H. Q. Porter, and D. W. Turner; no published account identifies an earlier coiner of the word.[22](https://doi.org/10.1038/290556a0) Over the following decades, zone-plate full-field and scanning transmission microscopes and synchrotron photoelectron microscopes were developed at facilities including the Wisconsin Synchrotron Radiation Center, HASYLAB, NSLS, SSRL, ALS, and MAXLAB, with high-lateral-resolution photoemission becoming practical in the mid- and late 1980s.[14](https://cibm.ch/wp-content/uploads/1-s2.0-S0368204809001236-main.pdf)\n\n## Variants\n\n**STXM** uses a [Fresnel zone](https://www.edgepedia.org/fresnel-zone) plate to focus monochromatic synchrotron X-rays to a typically ~50 nm spot; the ALS instrument records NEXAFS spectra from 150–1400 eV with ~100 meV energy resolution.[9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) With a point detector its resolution is diffraction/spot-size limited at about 30 nm; with a 2D detector, STXM-ptychography is wavelength limited (1–2 nm with soft X-rays) at large computational cost.[17](https://sm.lightsource.ca/media/uploads/stxm-data-analysis-webinar-4dec2020-jianwang-final.pdf) Conventional X-ray microscopy operates as a high-throughput tool at around 30 nm resolution, with 10 nm half-period reported in both full-field and scanning modes.[7](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc4904)\n\n**X-PEEM** combines X-ray absorption spectroscopy with full-field electron-optical imaging; 10–20 nm resolution is obtainable with aperture energy filtering, though average practical resolution is 40–100 nm.[6](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf) • [23](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304399103002201) The SPELEEM adds LEEM and a band-pass energy filter for energy-filtered imaging, micro-diffraction, and micro-XPS.[15](https://indico.ictp.it/event/a11156/session/49/contribution/30/material/1/0.pdf) **SPEM** focuses with a zone plate to a 130 nm Gaussian spot at the Elettra ESCA microscopy beamline, with 200–350 meV energy resolution at 650 eV and a probing depth of 3–10 monolayers.[24](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/articles/16/54) In hard X-ray scanning spectromicroscopy, resolution is essentially the beam size, with focused beams down to ~10 nm, and the large penetration depth enables in situ and operando study of buried structures.[25](https://www.aimspress.com/aimspress-data/aimsmates/2015/2/PDF/201502162.pdf)\n\n**Ptychography** is the main resolution and dose advance: soft [X-ray ptychography](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-ptychography) imaged 5 nm structures and produced chemical maps at 18 nm resolution, nearly an order of magnitude better than the 150-nm probe FWHM.[8](https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2014.207) A comparative study found 20–25 nm resolution at the nitrogen K-edge with a dose approximately 6 times lower than STXM.[12](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c04620) ALS ptychography has reached 7 nm full-period resolution, limited by dose.[26](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0368204823000981)\n\n## Applications\n\n**Polymers and biomaterials.** STXM and X-PEEM map polymer microstructure at the ~50 nm scale using functional-group NEXAFS contrast, applied to controlled-release microcapsules, gene-therapy capsules, conducting polymer films under electrolyte and potential control, and protein adsorption on patterned surfaces.[27](https://www.publish.csiro.au/ch/CH05054) • [2](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/aph-pubs/j_el_spect_144_2005_259-review.html)\n\n**Biology and environment.** STXM characterizes metal-containing and carbon-based nanomaterials interacting with microbial cells, biofilms, and extracellular polymers, and X-ray fluorescence detection maps low levels of Ni in a natural river biofilm.[28](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmi.12156) At sub-50-nm resolution, STXM/XANES has located amyloid plaques from Alzheimer's subjects and determined the chemical state of Fe and Cu; graphene liquid cells extend the method to live hydrated cells near physiological conditions.[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/)\n\n**Materials and devices.** XMCD-PEEM images magnetic recording media,[6](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf) operando SPEM probes biased InP nanowire devices,[24](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/articles/16/54) and X-PEEM oxidation-state imaging has been applied to cyanobacteria, cancer cells, and silicate minerals.[23](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304399103002201)\n\n## Limitations and alternatives\n\n**Radiation damage** is the central constraint for soft matter. STXM damage is two orders of magnitude lower than electron-beam imaging,[9](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html) and ptychography needs ~6× lower dose than STXM,[12](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c04620) but even cryopreservation does not prevent radiation-induced changes to electronic structure in sensitive polymers, so spectra must be checked carefully.[10](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/content/pdf/2190-4286-6-61.pdf) Mitigations include fast shutters and collecting images at only 25–40 energies.[11](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911) Published comparisons give relative doses and example values, not established Gy thresholds at which soft matter fails.\n\n**Other failure modes.** In conventional STXM, point-spread-function tails contaminate spectra, producing spectral mixing over ~150 nm even where the Rayleigh resolution is 55 nm; ptychographic spectra match references because the probe is deconvolved.[7](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc4904) X-PEEM suffers charging in polymer films thicker than ~250 nm, and limited NEXAFS spectral contrast between different proteins is a major drawback for multi-protein systems.[11](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911) Under strong noise, Plug-and-Play regularized unmixing retrieves chemical-state maps from TXM-XANES more robustly than edge-jump or linear-combination fitting and is not limited to two-state chemistry.[29](https://ar5iv.labs.arxiv.org/html/2308.04207)\n\n**Comparisons.** STXM's chemical sensitivity for C, N, O, S, and Ca is generally higher than TEM-EELS, with less demanding preparation, though its spatial resolution is orders of magnitude inferior to TEM.[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/) Electron microscopy of wet cells requires resin embedding, sub-100 nm sectioning, and sometimes metal coating, and produces much larger radiation damage for a given amount of analytical information.[16](https://library.csbe-scgab.ca/docs/meetings/2006/CSBE06123.pdf) Synchrotron XRF nanoprobes reach nm-scale resolution with ppb detection limits, though XRF mapping is often semi-quantitative.[30](https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2864/) • [31](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/ja/d3ja90026f)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Adam P. Hitchcock (2023). Analysis of X-ray images and spectra (aXis2000): A toolkit for the analysis of X-ray spectromicroscopy data. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147360)\n2. [Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy of biological and synthetic polymer systems (J. Electron Spectroscopy 2005)](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/aph-pubs/j_el_spect_144_2005_259-review.html)\n3. [Soft X-ray Fluorescence and Near-Edge Absorption Microscopy for Investigating Metabolic Features in Biological Systems: A Review (2023)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9960606/)\n4. [Progress in X-ray microbeam spectroscopy](https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/xrs.1300220405)\n5. [Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy of polymers and biopolymer interfaces (J. Synchrotron Rad., 2001)](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049500016447)\n6. [X-ray spectro-microscopy of complex materials and surfaces (IBM J. Res. Dev., Stöhr et al.)](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/IBM_Journal_of_Research_and_Development/444/stohr.pdf)\n7. [An ultrahigh-resolution soft x-ray microscope for quantitative analysis of chemically heterogeneous nanomaterials](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc4904)\n8. [David A. Shapiro and colleagues (2014). Chemical composition mapping with nanometre resolution by soft X-ray microscopy. Nature Photonics.](https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2014.207)\n9. [Scanning Transmission Microscopy on Polymers](http://unicorn.mcmaster.ca/stxm-intro/polySTXMintro-all.html)\n10. [Overview of nanoscale NEXAFS performed with soft X-ray microscopes](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/content/pdf/2190-4286-6-61.pdf)\n11. [Characterization of Biomaterials by Soft X-Ray Spectromicroscopy (Materials 2010)](https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/7/3911)\n12. [Estimating Spatial Resolution and X-ray Radiation Dose in a Comparative Study of Composite Organic Nanoparticles Using Soft X-ray STXM and Soft X-ray Ptychography](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c04620)\n13. [Mirna Lerotic and colleagues (2014). MANTiS: a program for the analysis of X-ray spectromicroscopy data. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.](https://doi.org/10.1107/s1600577514013964)\n14. [Photoelectron spectromicroscopy and spectronanoscopy at synchrotrons](https://cibm.ch/wp-content/uploads/1-s2.0-S0368204809001236-main.pdf)\n15. [Recent advances in chemical and magnetic imaging of surfaces and interfaces by XPEEM](https://indico.ictp.it/event/a11156/session/49/contribution/30/material/1/0.pdf)\n16. [Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy for biological applications (CSBE conference paper)](https://library.csbe-scgab.ca/docs/meetings/2006/CSBE06123.pdf)\n17. [CLS STXM and Ptychography, STXM data analysis webinar (Jian Wang, Canadian Light Source)](https://sm.lightsource.ca/media/uploads/stxm-data-analysis-webinar-4dec2020-jianwang-final.pdf)\n18. [I. N. Koprinarov and colleagues (2002). Quantitative Mapping of Structured Polymeric Systems Using Singular Value Decomposition Analysis of Soft X-ray Images. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.](https://doi.org/10.1021/jp013281l)\n19. [Göran A. Johansson and colleagues (2007). Three-dimensional chemical mapping by scanning transmission X-ray spectromicroscopy. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.](https://doi.org/10.1107/s0909049507029962)\n20. [Paul Kirkpatrick, A. V. Baez (1948). Formation of Optical Images by X-Rays. Journal of the Optical Society of America.](https://doi.org/10.1364/josa.38.000766)\n21. [Paul Horowitz, John A. Howell (1972). A Scanning X-Ray Microscope Using Synchrotron Radiation. Science.](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.178.4061.608)\n22. [G. Beamson, H. Q. Porter, D. W. Turner (1981). Photoelectron spectromicroscopy. Nature.](https://doi.org/10.1038/290556a0)\n23. [SPHINX X-PEEM: performance in biology, medicine and geology (Ultramicroscopy, 2004)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304399103002201)\n24. [Nanostructured materials characterized by scanning photoelectron spectromicroscopy (Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025)](https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/articles/16/54)\n25. [Possibilities and Challenges of Scanning Hard X-ray Spectro-microscopy Techniques in Material Sciences](https://www.aimspress.com/aimspress-data/aimsmates/2015/2/PDF/201502162.pdf)\n26. [Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy at the Advanced Light Source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0368204823000981)\n27. [Chemical Mapping of Polymer Microstructure Using Soft X-ray Spectromicroscopy (Aust. J. Chem. 2005)](https://www.publish.csiro.au/ch/CH05054)\n28. [Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy for speciation, quantitation and nano-eco-toxicology of nanomaterials (J. Microscopy, 2014)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmi.12156)\n29. [Robust retrieval of material chemical states in X-ray microspectroscopy](https://ar5iv.labs.arxiv.org/html/2308.04207)\n30. [Modern Bioimaging Techniques for Elemental Tissue Analysis: Key Parameters, Challenges and Medical Impact](https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2864/)\n31. [2023 atomic spectrometry update – a review of advances in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and its special applications](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/ja/d3ja90026f)\n32. [S41377 025 02057 9 (repository.gsi.de)](https://repository.gsi.de/record/365933/files/s41377-025-02057-9.pdf?subformat=pdfa)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physics › Physics methods, practice, and community › Electron microscopy methods*\n\n*Initially written Sep 29, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Spectromicroscopy\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Spectromicroscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Spectromicroscopy\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/spectromicroscopy. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Spectromicroscopy combines an imaging microscope with a spectrometer, recording a spectrum at every pixel so that chemical composition and electronic structure can be mapped at microscopic resolution." }