Our Carl Zeiss Merlin Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) is designed for high contrast low-voltage imaging of delicate samples with resolution better than one nanometer. The Merlin has several low-noise backscatter and secondary electron on-axis detectors, a novel charging compensation mode, and is our primary tool for studying soft materials samples such as polymers, nanoparticles, and active biological materials such as patterned silicon nanowires.