The FELMI-ZFE operates advanced scientific instrumentation in the field of materials microscopy. The instruments are partly owned by the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and by the Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy (Zentrum für Elektronenmikroskopie Graz). They are fully equipped with x-ray and electron energy-loss spectrometers and other special detectors. Additional instruments for specimen preparation (ultramicrotomy, ion-milling) are available. The instrumentation is used for scientific collaborations and collaborative research with companies. The institute hosts one of the best electron microscopes in Europe - the Austrian Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (ASTEM), which is used for materials characterisation at atomic resolution. The institute is a partner of the ESTEEM2 project of the FP7.Four main research areas of FELMI-ZFE are: Nanoanalysis of Materials, Functional Nanofabrication, 3D and in situ Characterisation, Soft Matter and Biomicroscopy