Practical Electron Microscopy and Database

Multiple scattering means that the scattering events are so frequent that the occurrence of the scattering is almost uncountable during the traveling lifetime of the primary electron within an EM (electron microscope) specimen. Note that multiple scattering normally does not occur within a thin TEM specimen but is significant within a thick SEM specimen where the primary electrons lose most or all of their energy.

Only electrons scattered at small angles and without loosing energies will contribute to the information in the HRTEM images while all the others (which have lost energy and have been scattered multiple times or at high angles) also contains important information about the sample, they will for instance give a diffuse background in the TEM images and benefit to EFTEM elemental mapping.