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. 2006 Jun 6;2:35–43. doi: 10.2142/biophysics.2.35

Table 1.

Summary of the characteristics and application targets for different phase contrast techniques

Defocus Phase Contrast TEM
DPC-TEM

  • - well established technique;

  • - poor transfer of low spatial frequencies;

  • - good for object details smaller than 10 nm;
Zernike Phase Contrast TEM
ZPC-TEM

  • - flat frequency response;

  • - good for object details smaller than 100 nm;

  • - data suitable for numerical processing and reconstructions;

  • - possible targets: proteins, viruses, nanoparticles, nanostructures;
Hilbert Differential Contrast TEM
HDC-TEM

  • - good for object details larger than 100 nm;

  • - topographic representation of the phase information;

  • - data for direct interpretation;

  • - possible targets: vitrified cells, organelles, composite materials;