An Accessible Direct Detection Camera for Transmission Electron Microscopy Imaging, Diffraction and In Situ Investigation of Materials from 60 – 200 keV

The ability of direct detection cameras to collect high-quality data with very low dose rates (e.g. &lt; 20 e^-/pixel/s) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) makes them effective tools for investigating any beam-sensitive material or reaction, such as studies on monolayer 2D materials [1]. These cameras are usually optimized for 200 – 300 keV TEM operation to support the most popular materials science and cryo-electron microscopy applications but have lower detection efficiency at lower TEM accelerating voltages. As a result, direct detection cameras have limited performance for emerging applications requiring ≤ 80 keV to reduce beam damage or improve scattering contrast. Furthermore, properly operating direct detection cameras typically requires more microscopy expertise than operating a scintillator camera, which can be a barrier to collecting the best possible results.<br/><br/>This presentation highlights Gatan’s newest direct detection camera – specifically designed to extend the high-quality imaging capabilities of direct detection technology down to 60 keV while streamlining camera operation to improve accessibility for microscopists of all levels of expertise. In particular, the camera uses a new 2k x 2k pixel sensor for experiments from 60 – 200 keV and is capable of framerates &gt; 40 FPS at full imaging resolution. Results from low-dose <i>in-situ</i> heating experiments at ≤ 80 keV are presented to highlight the camera’s high performance for materials research and <i>in-situ</i> experiments. New DigitalMicrograph software features for streamlining camera control and data processing are also discussed.<br/><br/>The improved performance of this camera below 200 keV will benefit all TEM experiments requiring both low-dose and low accelerating voltage, such as research on lithium-ion batteries, catalysts, electronics, and more.<br/><br/>[1] Murthy, A. <i>et al. </i>Direct Visualization of Electric-Field-Induced Structural Dynamics in Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides. <i>ACS Nano</i> <b>14</b>, 1569-1576 (2020)