Microscopic examination of microorganisms makes use of either the light microscope or the electron microscope.
Light microscope is used for routine work whereas electron microscope in addition to light microscope is used for special research purposes such as studying the detailed structure of cells.
Several types of light microscopes are commonly used in microbiology: bright-field, dark-field, phase contrast, and fluorescence.
There are two types of electron microscopes: transmission electron microscope (TEM) to study the internal structure of cells and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to study the detailed surface structure of cells.
