History of electron microscopy
C9940 3-Dimensional Transmission Electron Microscopy
S1007 Doing structural biology with the electron microscope
February 16, 2015
Syllabus
Week Date Instructor Topic
1 02/16 D. Nemecek & T. Shaikh Introduction/Tour/History
2 02/23 D. Nemecek & T. Shaikh Electron Optics
3 03/02 D. Nemecek Specimen preparation
4 03/09 T. Shaikh Image analysis I
5 03/16 T. Shaikh Image analysis II
6 03/23 T. Shaikh 3D reconstruction
7 03/30 T. Shaikh Single-particle reconstruction
(Easter)
8 04/13 D. Nemecek Tomography I
9 04/20 D. Nemecek Tomography II
10 04/27 D. Nemecek Visualization/Segmentation
11 05/04 D. Nemecek Hybrid methods
12 05/11 T. Shaikh Computer practicals
13 05/18 D. Nemecek & T. Shaikh Journal club
Munich: Ernst Ruska & Otto Scherzer
Ernst Ruska: timeline
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1931: Electron lens
magnification: 400X
1933: First electron microscope
mag: 7000X (vs. LM: 2000X)
1933: Completed Ph.D. (!)
1939: First commercial EM (Siemens)
mag: 100,000X
1952: Helmut Ruska (brother) moves from Siemens to Albany
1986: Nobel Prize in Physics
Ernst Ruska
http://www.biografiasyvidas.com
http://ernst.ruska.de
Sketch from 1929
http://ernst.ruska.dehttp://www.bluesci.org
First commercial Siemens microscopeReplica of first electron microscope
Helmut Ruska (standing)
next to Siemens-20
at Wadsworth Center in Albany
http://www.wadsworth.org
Otto Scherzer: timeline
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1934: First comprehensive book on electron optics
1936: Spherical aberration → resolution 50-100X the
wavelength
1947-1951: Devised correction schemes for aberration
correction
1949:
“Can atoms be visible in the electron microscope?”
“Scherzer focus”
Scherzer → Harald Rose (Wadsworth, Darmstadt) → Max
Haider
Otto Scherzer
http://www.microscopy.org
First book on electron optics
http://www.microscopy.org
Scherzer (1949) Physikalische Blätter &
Scherzer (1949) Journal of Applied Physics
http://www.microscopy.org
http://www.microscopy.org
“Can atoms be visible in the electron microscope?”
“Scherzer focus”
Toronto group: E.F. Burton, James Hillier, etc.
Toronto group: timeline
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1937: Grad students James Hillier, Albert Prebus designed
microscope over Christmas break
1938: First images
1939: E.F. Burton et al.
introduced airlock system
reduced specimen prep to 300nm thickness
resolution: 60Å, specimen limited
maximum mag: 180,000X
Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
James Hillier: timeline
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1940 Feb
started at RCA
enlisted by Vladimir Dworykin (cathode ray tube)
1940 Jul 4: Commercial EM, Model B (EMB)
1941: 300kV, for dealing with thick specimens
1947: first stigmator
stigmators were iron screws tapped into the pole piece
resolution → 1nm
1973 (at VP of RCA): first videodisc
James Hillier
http://www.museevirtuel.ca http://www.rfcafe.com
With Albert Prebus At RCA Model B, 1940
Electron microscopy in the Czech Republic
Electron microscopy in the Czech Republic
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1950: Ales Blaha: “Tripiod” at the Institute of Theoretical and
Experimentation Electrotechnology of the Technical University
1951: Tesla BS241
first Czech commercial microscope
50kV
resolution: 2nm
1968: First ultrahigh vacuum system (Institute of Scientific
Instruments)
1990: Delong Instruments founded
1991: TESCAN founded
1997: FEI builds factory in Brno
Electron microscopy in the Czech Republic
http://www.isibrno.cz
“Tripod,” 1950
http://www.isibrno.cz
First high-vacuum system, 1961
Medical Research Council (MRC), Cambridge
Aaron Klug: timeline
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1968: DeRosier & Klug – first 3d EM reconstruction
1979: Cormack & Hounsfeld receive Nobel Prize in Physiology
for CAT scans
1982: Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Other notable events
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Milestones:
1934: Ladislav L. Marton takes the first image of biological specimen
1937: Manfred von Ardenne (CRT) develops SEM
1948: Dennis Gabor develops electron holography (Nobel Prize in
Physics, 1971)
1974: Ken Taylor & Bob Glaeser – electron crystallography of frozen
hydrated specimens
1975: Richard Henderson – subnanometer electron crystallography
1982: Jacques Dubochet – modern cryo techniques
1987: Joachim Frank determines 3D reconstruction of an asymmetric
specimen (50S ribosome)
2007: Direct Electron develops first commercial direct electron detector