Backscattered electron (source code)

= Backscattered electron

A <backscattered electron> is a primary beam <electron> redirected out through the incident side of a specimen after scattering. Backscattered signals commonly retain much more of the incident <kinetic energy> than emitted low-energy <secondary electrons>.<Backscattered electron by JEOL Ltd.>[Definition and relative-energy discussion]{ref}

In a <scanning electron microscope>, collecting these <electrons> can provide <backscattered-electron atomic-number contrast>, but specimen tilt, collection geometry and <crystallographic electron channeling> also change brightness. Comparing detector directions or tilting the specimen tests some of those contributions. A bright region is therefore not uniquely a region of greater <atomic number>.