High Speed, Radiation Hard CMOS Pixel Sensors for Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract

CMOS monolithic active pixel sensors are currently being established as the technology of choice for new generation digital imaging systems in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). A careful sensor design that couples μm-level pixel pitches with high frame rate readout and radiation hardness to very high electron doses enables the fabrication of direct electron detectors that are quickly revolutionizing high-resolution TEM imaging in material science and molecular biology. This paper will review the principal characteristics of this novel technology and its advantages over conventional, optically-coupled cameras, and retrace the sensor development driven by the Transmission Electron Aberration corrected Microscope (TEAM) project at the LBNL National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM), illustrating in particular the imaging capabilities enabled by single electron detection at high frame rate. Further, the presentation will report on the translation of the TEAM technology to a finer feature size process, resulting in a sensor with higher spatial resolution and superior radiation tolerance currently serving as the baseline for a commercial camera system.