Sub-100 nanosecond temporally resolved imaging with the Medipix3 direct electron detector.

ABSTRACT

Detector developments are currently enabling new capabilities in the field of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We have investigated the limits of a hybrid pixel detector, Medipix3, to record dynamic, time varying, electron signals. Operating with an energy of 60 keV, we have utilised electrostatic deflection to oscillate electron beam position on the detector. Adopting a pump-probe imaging strategy, we have demonstrated that temporal resolutions three orders of magnitude smaller than are available for typically used TEM imaging detectors are possible. Our experiments have shown that energy deposition of the primary electrons in the hybrid pixel detector limits the overall temporal resolution. Through adjustment of user specifiable thresholds or the use of charge summing mode, we have obtained images composed from summing 10,000s frames containing single electron events to achieve temporal resolution less than 100 ns. We propose that this capability can be directly applied to studying repeatable material dynamic processes but also to implement low-dose imaging schemes in scanning transmission electron microscopy.