LEEM is one result of that work. Development of the instrument spans nearly three decades and two continents. The LEEM at ASU is a Y-shaped device. An electron gun at the tip of one of the branches emits a stream of slow, low-energy electrons. At the other branch of the Y, the stream of reflected electrons is collected to produce an image of the device's surface.
Scientists can photograph the surface or view in real time on a computer screen.
Despite the small number of LEEM instruments in operation worldwide, Bauer says that a large amount of valuable information on surface structure and processes already has been collected using the technique. Still, he says, there still is plenty of room for improvement. The amount of data produced by a well functioning microscope is immense. But without efficient image-analysis techniques, much information can be lost.