The Apreo is a versatile, high-performance, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) capable of 1-nanometer resolution on well-prepared materials. Next generation in-lens detectors perform well even at voltages as low as 200eV. Both secondary electron and back-scatter information are available and can be collected simultaneously at high vacuum or at chamber pressures up to 500Pa. Other detectors available include scanning transmission (sTEM), characteristic x-ray (EDS), and electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD).

Elemental analysis by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy is a semi-quantitative technique to assess the composition of bulk materials and evaluate the spatial distribution of elements. Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction can reveal the grain orientation of crystalline phases at the surface of samples, a technique also known as Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM). EBSD requires a highly polished, defect-free surface to produce coherent backscatter diffraction patterns from the top 10mn of the sample.

MAPS 3 software automates the acquisition of large fields of view at high resolution for image analysis and correlative microscopy.