Fast 4D-STEM direct electron detection system

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The Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research (IMN) runs the electron microscopy facility of the Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), a central user facility and part of the Competence Center "Engineering of Advanced Materials" of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). CENEM provides FAU's researchers with high-resolution and nanoanalytical techniques for advanced materials characterization. In the area of Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), CENEM is equipped with two aberration-corrected STEMs with analytical capabilities. CENEM provides FAU's researchers with high-resolution and nanoanalytical techniques for advanced materials characterization. Within the IMN, a research group for Computational Materials Microscopy was established in August 2022, with a main research focus on computational microscopy techniques enabled by four-dimensional STEM (4D-STEM). The required instrumentation will enable the research themes pursued by the Computational Materials Microscopy Group in the areas of 1) scale-bridging, multi-modal atomic resolution tomography, 2) atomic resolution phase-contrast imaging of beam-sensitive materials, 3) method development for real-time processing of 4D-STEM data streams and 4) method development for automation of multi-modal 4D-STEM experiments. The four research themes require a state-of-the-art fast-framing direct electron detector with high dynamic range, frame rate, and dose efficiency. To achieve the goals in themes 1), 2), and 4), a customizable scan generator with custom point scanning and beam precession synchronized with the direct electron detector is required. The new detector with an advanced scan system will be unique at FAU and not only enable research themes within the Computational Microscopy Group but also be crucial to existing and planned projects within the IMN. Apart from forming the research foundation for the Computational Materials Microscopy group and enabling new imaging methods at CENEM, the instrumentation will be extensively used in several current initiatives, new RTG Correlative Materials Microscopy) collaborative research projects.