Choice of operating voltage for a transmission electron microscope

Many non-conducting (e.g. organic) specimens damage easily by radiolysis and radiation damage then determines the TEM image resolution. For bright-field scattering contrast, low kV can provide slightly better dose-limited resolution if the specimen is very thin (a few nm) but considerably better resolution is possible from a thicker specimen, for which higher kV is required. Use of a phase plate in a conventional TEM offers the most dose-efficient way of achieving atomic resolution from beam-sensitive specimens.