Interpretation of Electron Micrographs of Silica Surface Replicas

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Abstract
Experiments are described for investigating the interpretation of polystyrene-silica surface replicas. It is demonstrated on a polished and etched stainless steel 18–8 specimen that the light microscope and electron microscope pictures are strikingly similar with corresponding regions easily recognized. The great value of stereo-pictures in determining relative surface elevations is demonstrated with a comparison of the topography as shown by the light microscope using oblique illumination. The question of resolution is discussed and a method of quantitatively determining the practical limiting resolution of replicas is described. A shape limitation factor, α, is defined and evaluated for both silica and Formvar replicas. With α = 1 being perfect reproduction, the values obtained were α∼1.3 for silica and α∼3.8 for Formvar. The value α∼3.8 is valid only for the surface employed in its determination while the value of α∼1.3 is realized on any surface to which the polystyrene-silica method can be applied.