Compound

Microscopes - Most
people immediately
recognize a compound
microscope from
seeing them in movies
or using them in their
student days. The
original microscope
design was a
compound optical, and
it's still the most
commonly used today.

A compound
microscope works by
illuminating the slide
from underneath with a
light bulb. The
specimen is then
magnified by a series
of lenses, one near the
slide (called the
objective lens) and one near the top (called the eyepiece). This results in
a two-dimensional image that you can adjust depending on the strength
of your lenses.

Compound microscope parts vary per design, but are usually pretty
standard. This makes them easy for anyone to learn and use. Other
advantages of compound microscopes are that they can go up to a high
magnification and are affordable for amateurs, students, and scientists. A
disadvantage is that they have a lower resolution, so your image will
never be as crisp and sharp as some more advanced types of
microscopes.
 Stereo Microscopes - A
stereo microscope differs
from a compound
microscope in a few key
features. The most critical
difference you may notice is
that it has two eyepieces
instead of one.

The purpose of the stereo

microscope is to produce a
three-dimensional image,
hence the two eyepieces that
send a different image to the
right and left eye. The
specimen is usually lit from
above, rather than
underneath. This makes the
stereo microscope ideal for
dissection, inspection,
circuit board work,
manufacturing, or use with
any opaque specimen.

Stereo microscopes are very

easy to use and are fairly
inexpensive, making them
ideal for amateurs,
professionals, and people in
industries that aren't overtly
scientific. They have a low
magnification so you cannot
see individual cells, which may or may not be an advantage depending on your
needs. Their biggest use is the ability to create three-dimensional images. More
info about stereo microscopes is here.
Electron microscope- is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a
source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than
that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a higher resolving power than light
microscopes and can reveal the structure of smaller objects. A scanning transmission electron
microscope has achieved better than 50 pm resolution in annular dark-field imaging mode
and magnifications of up to about 10,000,000x whereas most light microscopes are limited
by diffraction to about 200 nm resolution and useful magnifications below 2000x.
Electron microscopes have electron optical lens systems that are analogous to the glass lenses of
an optical light microscope.
Electron microscopes are used to investigate the ultrastructure of a wide range of biological and
inorganic specimens including microorganisms cells, large molecules, biopsy samples, metals,
and crystals. Industrially, electron microscopes are often used for quality control and failure
analysis. Modern electron microscopes produce electron micrographs using specialized digital
cameras and frame grabbers to capture the image.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - is a type of electron microscope that
produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam
of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various
signals that contain information about the sample's surface topography and
composition. The electron beam is scanned in a raster scan pattern, and the beam's
position is combined with the detected signal to produce an image. SEM can
achieve resolution better than 1 nanometer. Specimens can be observed in high
vacuum in conventional SEM, or in low vacuum or wet conditions in variable
pressure or environmental SEM, and at a wide range of cryogenic or elevated
temperatures with specialized instruments.
The most common SEM mode is detection of secondary electrons emitted by
atoms excited by the electron beam. The number of secondary electrons that can be
detected depends, among other things, on specimen topography. By scanning the
sample and collecting the secondary electrons that are emitted using a special
detector, an image displaying the topography of the surface is created.