Abstract
Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) provides structural analysis with sub-angstrom resolution. But the pixel-by-pixel scanning process is a limiting factor in acquiring high-speed data. Different strategies have been implemented to increase scanning speeds while at the same time minimizing beam damage via optimizing the scanning strategy. Here, we achieve the highest possible scanning speed by eliminating the image acquisition dead time induced by the beam flyback time combined with reducing the amount of scanning pixels via sparse imaging. A calibration procedure was developed to compensate for the hysteresis of the magnetic scan coils. A combination of sparse and serpentine scanning routines was tested for a crystalline thin film, gold nanoparticles, and in an in-situ liquid phase STEM experiment. Frame rates of 92, 23 and 5.8 s-1 were achieved for images of a width of 128, 256, and 512 pixels, respectively. The methods described here can be applied to single-particle tracking and analysis of radiation sensitive materials.
Highlights
Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) provides structural analysis with sub-angstrom resolution
The standard scanning pattern implemented for STEM imaging relies on the amplitude recording of the detector signal into a 2D array while the beam moves from left to right and top to bottom
The image distortion can be related to the TD to find the associated flyback time
Summary
Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) provides structural analysis with sub-angstrom resolution. Once the minimization problem for the intensity vectors is solved, the rectification coefficients can be applied to obtain a rectified image such as, where the scan distortions have been corrected.
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