SEMs are used extensively in materials science and research, especially in the areas of ultrathin, vacuum deposited films. They are also used in the fields of microchip design and manufacturing, aerospace engineering, and electron beam lithography. Here are some experiments I obtained from the University of Marylands Center For Microanalysis that they either are currently doing or have completed:
Ceramics Materials and Products
Polymers Materials and Products
Metallic Materials and Products
Thin Films
Composites
Coatings
Electronic Devices and Packages
Scanning Tunneling Electron Microscopes, a close relation to the SEMs, are being used in the attempt to develop nanotechnology. Nanotechnology basically is the attempt to design and manufacture machines whose dimensions are measured in nanometers (Click here for picture).
Current technology does not yet allow for the precise arrangement of atoms that nanotechnology requires, but much theoretical work has been done and nanotechnology will probably become feasible in the next 5 to 10 years according to some estimates. Click here for a picture of the Drexler Assembler Arm mentioned in (Figure-8).
Click here for an example of a differential gear constructed of several thousand atoms that I also obtained from the Institute for Molecular Manufacturings website.
Since the SEM is one of the most widely used tools in materials science and engineering, I urge any student who is interested in materials science and/or a career in engineering in the Engineering and Physics programs at FSU to make an attempt to use the SEM for a Junior Lab, Senior Lab, or an Independent Study Course. It is a fascinating and very versatile machine and it is highly probable that you will use one at some point in your future career.