2010 Innovation Awards
Direct Detection Device Sensor Direct Electron, LP Developer: Direct Electron, LP
Te Direct Electron DE-12,
a 12-megapixel digital camera system for transmission elec- tron microscopy (TEM), is based on Direct Detection Device (DDD®) sensor tech- nology. Te DDD directly
detects image-forming electrons in the microscope rather than requiring a down-converting scintillator as in other digital camera systems. Te result is better resolution and higher signal-to-noise ratio, making the DDD particularly suitable in instances where the nature of the specimen, or other experi- mental requirements, limit the total electron dose that may be used. In fact, the DDD is sensitive enough that individual electron hits can be detected and “counted.” Tis opens up an entirely new mode of operation, electron-counting mode, that offers better performance in dose-limited imaging situations. Te secret to the DDD’s high performance is its thin
sensing layer. Incident beam electrons pass through this thin layer leaving an ionization trail that is collected and either integrated or counted in pixels. Because the layer is so thin, lateral charge spread is minimized resulting in higher resolution than conventional detectors. Te sensor in the DE-12 uses 6-micron pixels, analogous to the scanning resolution of photographic film; and, unlike scintillators, DDD resolution improves with electron beam energy. A second innovative feature of the system is its high frame
rate, with no dead time between frames. Tis high frame rate is used to advantage in several ways in the DE-12 camera system. In integrating mode, rapidly acquired frames are co-added to produce a final specimen image. Te build up of a final image from many individual frames means the practical limit on exposure is set by the specimen or microscope rather than by the camera system. Access to individual frames aſter acquisition also means users can select which frames to use, and they can even apply such processing as driſt correction prior to addition.
Dynamic Transmission Electron Microscope (DTEM)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Developers: Wayne E. King, Michael R. Armstrong, Nigel D. Browning, Geoffrey H. Campbell, William J. DeHope, Judy S. Kim, Tomas B. LaGrange, Benjamin J. Pyke, Bryan W. Reed, Richard M. Shuttlesworth, Brent C. Stuart, Mitra L. Taheri, and Benjamin Torralva
Te dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM)
combines pulsed laser systems with the electron optics of a standard transmission electron microscope (TEM) and is designed for capturing rapid dynamic processes with nanometer resolution. Images with high spatial resolution (
34
in structural and functional materials microstructure such as dislocations,
impurity
particles, grain boundaries, and phase boundaries with ~15 ns temporal resolution. Using a specially designed liquid stage, the DTEM also enables observation of live biological processes in real-time with submolecular resolution.
Te high time resolution in the DTEM is achieved by
producing a short burst of electrons (up to billions of electrons in a 15-nanosecond pulse) to illuminate the specimen, coupled with single-electron-sensitive CCD image recording technology. A photocathode source is irradiated with a pulsed UV laser that provides a photon energy greater than the cathode work function. A flux of electrons is then produced via photoemission with approximately the same time duration as the stimulating laser pulse. Aſter this photoemission process, the microscope processes the emitted electron “packet” in the traditional way. Tis means that images can be obtained with the same time resolution as the pulse duration. If the photoemission pulse is synchronized with a second laser that stimulates the sample, in situ reactions can be initiated and studied with high time precision. Te LLNL DTEM uses a “single shot” approach to high
time resolution, in which a single pulse has enough electrons to capture a complete image or diffraction pattern. As a result the DTEM instrument can take in situ transmission electron microscopy to the next level, providing snapshots of material processes on the nanosecond scale, a full six orders of magnitude faster than conventional in situ TEM. It can capture the details of fast non-recurring processes that are completely inaccessible to any competing technique.
Microscope Nanonics Imaging Ltd. Developer: Aaron Lewis
HydraTM MultiProbe BioScanned Probe
Te HydraTM nanomechanical
merges the resolution
abilities of SPM with the application of multiple probes in simultaneous but independent feedback. Tis is done in a way that is fully applicable to living
systems. Furthermore, the system permits the extension of the nano-optical capabilities of near-field optics to living systems by using tuning forks in physiological media. Multiple probes also allow for simultaneous protocols of nanomechanical manipulation and extension of pump probe optical measure- ments to the nanometer scale. Te HydraTM
with its non-optical
tuning fork feedback allows integration with all forms of far-field light optical imaging, including upright and dual 4-pi light microscopes in addition to inverted microscopes. Water immersion objectives have not been previously used with
www.microscopy-today.com • 2010 September
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76