Resources

> MerlinEM Datasheet
> Request additional information

MerlinEM

The Direct Electron Detector (DED) pushing the boundaries of capability in TEMs.

What is MerlinEM?

The MerlinEM Direct Electron Detector (DED) is an advanced detector development in the field of Electron Microscopy, combining direct detection of electrons and rapid readout in a pixelated format ideal for applications such as 4D STEM and TEM dynamic imaging. Each sensor pixel is individually bump-bonded to an intelligent chip which uses threshold discriminators to distinguish electrons from the background, effectively eliminating all readout noise. This allows for integral mode imaging where multiple short exposure images are acquired and summed together. Uniquely, neighbouring pixels can communicate to mitigate charge-sharing effects, and this, combined with the direct detection of electrons, yields enhanced performance. As beam energies decrease toward 60 keV, the Merlin for EM has been shown to provide near-ideal DQE and MTF detector response.

Applications

I
4D STEM
I
Low Dose Imaging
I
Electromagnetic Fields
I
Time Resolved Imaging
I
Atomic resolution electric fields
I
2D materials
I
3D imaging
I
Ptychography
I
Pharmaceuticals
I
TEM imaging
I
Diffraction imaging
I
Amorphous materials

Specifications

Rapid readout

Kilohertz frame rates in continuous mode with zero deadtime offers more experimental flexibility than ever before, minimising effects such as sample drift, and enabling single shot and “pump and probe” dynamic experiments.

Direct detection

Noiseless detection of single electron events.

Effectively noise free

Two threshold discriminators in each pixel means zero read noise and dark current.

Dynamic range

Up to 24-bit counting depth enabling 1:16.7 million intensity range in a single image, ideal for recording diffraction patterns.

Charge Summing Mode (CSM)

Communication between pixels designed to mitigate charge sharing effects for maximising both DQE and MTF.

Wide energy range and radiation tolerance

Minimum 20 keV threshold making low energy EM imaging possible, and radiation tolerant design to 300 keV.

Mount

Static and retractable mounts available to fit many eletron microscopes.

No beamstop requirements

Radiation tolerant design means no need for a beamstop in diffraction experiments.

Software

The various acquisition modes, as well as many other input parameters for the optimisation of the MERLIN system, are easily chosen by a user friendly Graphical Interface as well as remotely controlled via TCP/IP protocol, and Digital Micrograph. Merlin data can be used with many other software tools, including: – HyperSpy:  https://hyperspy.org/ – pixStem: https://pixstem.org/ – pyXem: for working with scanning (precession) electron diffraction (S(P)ED) data, https://pyxem.github.io/pyxem/ -more tools can be found here https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/research/groups/mcmp/researchareas/pixstem/ Tools for handling data from fast pixelated detectors such as Merlin are a dynamic and very active field of research, so please let us know if you are working on any and would like us to link to your libraries. Collaboration fuels progress!

Get in touch!

Fill out our contact form here >

Olivia Sleator

Olivia Sleator

Sales Manager

Application notes

t

FAQ

Q. How can Merlin be calibrated?
A. Your Merlin system comes pre-calibrated.  Should you wish to add more calibration points to a particular energy, this can be done through the LabView GUI and editing of a calibration text file.  Details on how to do this are in the Manual.

Q. Does Charge Summing Mode increase dead time?
A. Yes, very slightly since there is additional logic here.

Q. How long is the cable from the PC to the detector head?
A. Up to 10 meters.

Q. Is it possible to access the FPGA memory directly?
A. No, the system writes to local disk and/or TCP/IP link

s

Additional information

^

Hybrid detector technology

^

Charge Summing Mode (CSM)

^

Data binning in Merlin

^

Dead time in Merlin data collection

^

Installation of Merlin detector

^

Hybrid Pixel Technology

Merlin is a new type of technology in the field of electron microscopy. It is a detector based on a hybrid pixel architecture. The detector assembly consists of a thick, highly resistive semiconductor sensor coupled to a Medipix3 chip. Incoming radiation generates charge in the sensor which diffuses under an applied bias to the CMOS circuitry of the individual pixels (via an array of micro-bump bonds). Each pixel contains >1100 transistors (within the 55 micrometer pitch), enabling on-chip counting of incident electrons and enhanced operation modes such as Charge Summing Mode (more about this later). The counting process consists of analogue comparison of the collected charge to a user selected energy threshold, and subsequent digital counting at 1 MHz if the threshold is exceeded. Thus, since the data readout relating the number of electrons counted by each pixel is digital, the Merlin detector operates free of readout noise. This is a feature unique to hybrid pixel technology and strongly differentiates it from analogue integrating detectors, such as CCD technology. Counting detectors are known to offer highest imaging performance in terms of modulation transfer function (MTF) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). The Merlin detector has been shown combine ideal TEM performance at the low energies needed to study 2D materials such as graphene for 60keV electrons 1 with 1000’s per second frame rates.

^

Charge Summing Mode (CSM)

When an electron strikes near the edge of a pixel (illustrated left), the resulting charge may leak into neighbouring pixels, thus reducing the MTF.  MERLIN has a unique capability where information is shared between adjoining clusters of four pixels, in what is known at the Charge Summing Mode. When charge spread occurs over the four adjoining pixels, MERLIN recognizes that this information belongs to one event on one pixel rather than up to 4 weaker events on 4 pixels.  By reconstructing the event using the diffused charge data, MERLIN increases the resolution and ensures an accurate reading of the event giving improved results quality.

^

Data Binning in Merlin

MERLIN provides high versatility with a variety of intrinsically fast (due to highly parallelized digital readout) large dynamic range acquisition options, namely: 14,400 fps@1 bit depth, 2,400 fps @ 6 bit depth, 1,200fps @12 bit and 600fps@24 bit depth. These readout modes (unlike the speed-up strategies employed with CCD technology) are unbinned and therefore imply no reduction of pixel resolution or field of view. Moreover, due to the electron counting approach of the detection system as well as the fully digital readout, MERLIN adds zero noise allowing a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) as high as a 16.7 million:1.

^

Dead Time in Merlin

There is no dead time in data collection! The advanced pixel architecture implements two readout counters per pixel and provides a continuous read/write acquisition mode with zero detector dead time (CCD technologies rely on non active detector frame store areas to reduce detector dead time). The various acquisition modes, as well as many other input parameters for the optimisation of the MERLIN system, are easily chosen by a user friendly Graphical Interface as well as remotely controlled via TCP/IP protocol.

^

Installation of Merlin

The MERLIN system is really “Plug and Play”, with the detector simply connected by one or two cables, depending on the type of installation (static or retractable). The Medipix3 chip has a very low (<1 Watt) power consumption, requiring minimal cooling and no need for connection to microscope water supplies or to pneumatics. The readout electronics are connected to the detector head via a 10 meter cable, thus giving ultimate flexibility. Therefore, MERLIN installation is rapid and designed not to impact on other microscope services.

Publications

Low dose imaging

 

2019
  • Electron Ptychography Using Fast Binary 4D STEM Data
    O’Leary, Colum M. and Liberti, Emanuela and Collins, Sean M. and Johnstone, Duncan N. and Rothmann, Mathias and Hou, Jingwei and Allen, Christopher S. and Kim, Judy S. and Bennett, Thomas D. and Midgley, Paul A. and Kirkland, Angus I. and Nellist, Peter D.
    p. 1662–1663. 2019
  • Metal-organic framework crystal-glass composites
    Hou, Jingwei and Ashling, Christopher W. and Collins, Sean M. and Krajnc, Andra\v{z} and Zhou, Chao and Longley, Louis and Johnstone, Duncan N. and Chater, Philip A. and Li, Shichun and Coulet, Marie Vanessa and Llewellyn, Philip L. and Coudert, François Xavier and Keen, David A. and Midgley, Paul A. and Mali, Gregor and Chen, Vicki and Bennett, Thomas D.
    p. 1–28. 2019

Electromagnetic fields

 

2019
2018
2016

 

Time resolved imaging

 

2019

 

Atomic resolution electric fields

 

2019

2D-materials

2019

  • Electron Ptychography Using Fast Binary 4D STEM Data
    O’Leary, Colum M. and Liberti, Emanuela and Collins, Sean M. and Johnstone, Duncan N. and Rothmann, Mathias and Hou, Jingwei and Allen, Christopher S. and Kim, Judy S. and Bennett, Thomas D. and Midgley, Paul A. and Kirkland, Angus I. and Nellist, Peter D.
    p. 1662–1663. 2019
2018
    • Hollow Electron Ptychographic Diffractive Imaging
      Song, Biying and Ding, Zhiyuan and Allen, Christopher S. and Sawada, Hidetaka and Zhang, Fucai and Pan, Xiaoqing and Warner, Jamie and Kirkland, Angus I. and Wang, Peng
      American Physical Society. p. 146101. 2018

 

3D imaging

 

2019
2018
    • Imaging Structure and Magnetisation in New Ways Using 4D STEM
      MacLaren, I. and Nord, Magnus and Conner, Suzanne and McGrouther, D and Allen, Christopher S. and Danaie, Mohsen and Kirkland, Angus I. and Bali, Rantej and Hlawacek, Gregor and Lindner, J\”{u}rgen and Faßbender, J\”{u}rgen
      p. 180–181. 2018

 

Ptychography

 

2019
  • Electron Ptychography Using Fast Binary 4D STEM Data
    O’Leary, Colum M. and Liberti, Emanuela and Collins, Sean M. and Johnstone, Duncan N. and Rothmann, Mathias and Hou, Jingwei and Allen, Christopher S. and Kim, Judy S. and Bennett, Thomas D. and Midgley, Paul A. and Kirkland, Angus I. and Nellist, Peter D.
    p. 1662–1663. 2019
2018
    • Hollow Electron Ptychographic Diffractive Imaging
      Song, Biying and Ding, Zhiyuan and Allen, Christopher S. and Sawada, Hidetaka and Zhang, Fucai and Pan, Xiaoqing and Warner, Jamie and Kirkland, Angus I. and Wang, Peng
      American Physical Society. p. 146101. 2018

 

 

Pharmaceuticals

2019

 

TEM imaging

2019
2017

Diffraction imaging