Microscopy with Ions: A Brief History

Every microscope requires a high brightness, reliable, stable source of illumination in order to function, and both the quality and the quantity of the illumination provided will determine, and ultimately limit, the performance of the instrument. Each type of microscope will have its own type of illuminating source. For a high-performance scanning electron or ion microscope, the most desirable property of the beam source is that the source must have a high brightness.