ASIC-based event-driven 2D digital electron counter for TEM imaging

Characterizing the resolution and throughput of the Apollo direct electron detector

Advances in electron detection have been essential to the success of high-resolution cryo-EM structure determination. A new generation of direct electron detector called the Apollo, has been developed by Direct Electron. The Apollo uses a novel event-based MAPS detector custom designed for ultra-fast electron counting. We have evaluated this new camera, finding that it delivers high detective quantum efficiency (DQE) and low coincidence loss, enabling high-quality electron counting data acquisition at up to nearly 80 input electrons per pixel per second. We further characterized the performance of Apollo for single particle cryo-EM on real biological samples. Using mouse apoferritin, Apollo yielded better than 1.9 Å resolution reconstructions at all three tested dose rates from a half-day data collection session each. With longer collection time and improved specimen preparation, mouse apoferritin was reconstructed to 1.66 Å resolution. Applied to a more challenging small protein aldolase, we obtained a 2.24 Å resolution reconstruction. The high quality of the map indicates that the Apollo has sufficiently high DQE to reconstruct smaller proteins and complexes with high-fidelity. Our results demonstrate that the Apollo camera performs well across a broad range of dose rates and is capable of capturing high quality data that produce high-resolution reconstructions for large and small single particle samples.

High Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector for Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

We describe a hybrid pixel array detector (electron microscope pixel array detector, or EMPAD) adapted for use in electron microscope applications, especially as a universal detector for scanning transmission electron microscopy. The 128×128 pixel detector consists of a 500 µm thick silicon diode array bump-bonded pixel-by-pixel to an application-specific integrated circuit. The in-pixel circuitry provides a 1,000,000:1 dynamic range within a single frame, allowing the direct electron beam to be imaged while still maintaining single electron sensitivity. A 1.1 kHz framing rate enables rapid data collection and minimizes sample drift distortions while scanning. By capturing the entire unsaturated diffraction pattern in scanning mode, one can simultaneously capture bright field, dark field, and phase contrast information, as well as being able to analyze the full scattering distribution, allowing true center of mass imaging. The scattering is recorded on an absolute scale, so that information such as local sample thickness can be directly determined. This paper describes the detector architecture, data acquisition system, and preliminary results from experiments with 80-200 keV electron beams.

Detecting single-electron events in TEM using low-cost electronics and a silicon strip sensor

There is great interest in developing novel position-sensitive direct detectors for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that do not rely in the conversion of electrons into photons. Direct imaging improves contrast and efficiency and allows the operation of the microscope at lower energies and at lower doses without loss in resolution, which is especially important for studying soft materials and biological samples. We investigate the feasibility of employing a silicon strip detector as an imaging detector for TEM. This device, routinely used in high-energy particle physics, can detect small variations in electric current associated with the impact of a single charged particle. The main advantages of using this type of sensor for direct imaging in TEM are its intrinsic radiation hardness and large detection area. Here, we detail design, simulation, fabrication and tests in a TEM of the front-end electronics developed using low-cost discrete components and discuss the limitations and applications of this technology for TEM.

Future developments in instrumentation for electron crystallography

Advances in instrumentation have proceeded at an impressive rate since the invention of the electron microscope. These advances have produced a continuous expansion of the capabilities and range of application of electron microscopy. In order to provide some insights on how continuing advances may enhance cryo-electron microscopy and electron crystallography, we review some of the active areas of instrumentation development. There is strong momentum in areas including detectors, phase contrast devices, and aberration correctors that may have substantial impact on the productivity and expectations of electron crystallographers.

Direct electron detection yields cryo-EM reconstructions at resolutions beyond 3/4 Nyquist frequency

One limitation in electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) is the inability to recover high-resolution signal from the image-recording media at the full-resolution limit of the transmission electron microscope. Direct electron detection using CMOS-based sensors for digitally recording images has the potential to alleviate this shortcoming. Here, we report a practical performance evaluation of a Direct Detection Device (DDD®) for biological cryo-EM at two different microscope voltages: 200 and 300 kV. Our DDD images of amorphous and graphitized carbon show strong per-pixel contrast with image resolution near the theoretical sampling limit of the data. Single-particle reconstructions of two frozen-hydrated bacteriophages, P22 and ε15, establish that the DDD is capable of recording usable signal for 3D reconstructions at about 4/5 of the Nyquist frequency, which is a vast improvement over the performance of conventional imaging media. We anticipate the unparalleled performance of this digital recording device will dramatically benefit cryo-EM for routine tomographic and single-particle structural determination of biological specimens.

Direct electron imaging in electron microscopy with monolithic active pixel sensors

A new imaging device for dynamic electron microscopy is in great demand. The detector should provide the experimenter with images having sufficient spatial resolution at high speed. Immunity to radiation damage, accumulated during exposures, is critical. Photographic film, a traditional medium, is not adequate for studies that require large volumes of data or rapid recording and charge coupled device (CCD) cameras have limited resolution, due to phosphor screen coupling. CCD chips are not suitable for direct recording due to their extreme sensitivity to radiation damage. This paper discusses characterization of monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) as well as in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The tested devices were two versions of the MIMOSA V (MV) chip. This 1M pixel device features pixel size of 17 x 17 microm(2) and was designed in a 0.6 microm CMOS process. The active layer for detection is a thin (less than 20 microm) epitaxial layer, limiting the broadening of the electron beam. The first version of the detector was a standard imager with electronics, passivation and interconnection layers on top of the active region; the second one was bottom-thinned, reaching the epitaxial layer from the bottom. The electron energies used range from a few keV to 30 keV for SEM and from 40 to 400 keV for TEM. Deterioration of the image resolution due to backscattering was quantified for different energies and both detector versions.

Structural studies by electron tomography: from cells to molecules

Electron tomography (ET) is uniquely suited to obtain three-dimensional reconstructions of pleomorphic structures, such as cells, organelles or supramolecular assemblies. Although the principles of ET have been known for decades, its use has gathered momentum only in recent years, thanks to technological advances and its combination with improved specimen preparation techniques. The rapid freezing/freeze-substitution preparation is applicable to whole cells and tissues, and it is the method of choice for ET investigations of cellular ultrastructure. The frozen-hydrated preparation provides the best possible structural preservation and allows the imaging of molecules, complexes, and supramolecular assemblies in their native state and their natural environment. Devoid of staining and chemical fixation artifacts, cryo-ET provides a faithful representation of both the surface and internal structure of molecules. In combination with advanced computational methods, such as molecular identification based on pattern recognition techniques, cryo-ET is currently the most promising approach to comprehensively map macromolecular architecture inside cellular tomograms.

Active pixel sensor array as a detector for electron microscopy

A new high-resolution recording device for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is urgently needed. Neither film nor CCD cameras are systems that allow for efficient 3-D high-resolution particle reconstruction. We tested an active pixel sensor (APS) array as a replacement device at 200, 300, and 400 keV using a JEOL JEM-2000 FX II and a JEM-4000 EX electron microscope. For this experiment, we used an APS prototype with an area of 64 x 64 pixels of 20 microm x 20 microm pixel pitch. Single-electron events were measured by using very low beam intensity. The histogram of the incident electron energy deposited in the sensor shows a Landau distribution at low energies, as well as unexpected events at higher absorbed energies. After careful study, we concluded that backscattering in the silicon substrate and re-entering the sensitive epitaxial layer a second time with much lower speed caused the unexpected events. Exhaustive simulation experiments confirmed the existence of these back-scattered electrons. For the APS to be usable, the back-scattered electron events must be eliminated, perhaps by thinning the substrate to less than 30 microm. By using experimental data taken with an APS chip with a standard silicon substrate (300 microm) and adjusting the results to take into account the effect of a thinned silicon substrate (30 microm), we found an estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio for a back-thinned detector in the energy range of 200-400 keV was about 10:1 and an estimate for the spatial resolution was about 10 microm.

Evaluation of a hybrid pixel detector for electron microscopy

We describe the application of a silicon hybrid pixel detector, containing 64 by 64 pixels, each 170 microm(2), in electron microscopy. The device offers improved resolution compared to CCDs along with faster and noiseless readout. Evaluation of the detector, carried out on a 120 kV electron microscope, demonstrates the potential of the device.

Multiport-readout frame-transfer 5 megapixel CCD imaging system for TEM applications

A multiport-readout, frame-transfer charge-coupled device (CCD) digital imaging system has been successfully developed and tested for intermediate-high-voltage electron microscopy (IVEM) applications up to 400 keV. The system employs a back-thinned CCD with 2560 x 1960 pixels and a pixel size of 24 microm x 24 microm. In the current implementation, four of the eight on-chip readout ports are used in parallel each operating at a pixel rate of 1- or 2-MHz so that the entire CCD array can be read out in as short as 0.6 s. The frame-transfer readout functions as an electronic shutter which permits the rapid transfer of charges in the active pixels to four masked buffers where the charges are readout and digitized while the active area of the CCD is integrating the next frame. With a thin film-based phosphor screen and a high-performance lens relay, the system has a conversion factor of 2.1 digital units per incident electron at 400 keV, and a modulation transfer function value of 14% at the Nyquist frequency.