The technique was developed by James Hillier and RF Baker in the mid-1940s but was not widely used over the next 50 years, only becoming more widespread in research in the 1990s due to advances in microscope instrumentation and vacuum technology.
该技术由 James Hillier 和 R.F. Baker 在1940年代中期开发，但是在随后的50年没有得到广泛应用，直到1990年代由于显微仪器和真空技术的进步才在研究中更加普及。