Gatan, Pleasanton, Calif., a leading manufacturer of instrumentation and software used to enhance the performance of electron microscopes, and Dectris, Switzerland, industry leader in hybrid-pixel x-ray and electron detectors for science and industry, announced the use of the Dectris-powered Stela hybrid-pixel camera as a low-voltage partner to the Gatan GIF Continuum K3 product line.
Currently, the K3 uses a large format active-pixel sensor optimized for 200–300kV microscopes to perform low-dose, electron counting energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) applications. Adding the large-pixel Dectris detector, which is developed for lower voltage operation, now extends these studies down to 30kV.
Furthermore, the Gatan DigitalMicrograph software unifies the acquisition and analysis of the K3 and Stela cameras under a single platform. As a result, this integrated solution provides the first truly optimized 30–300kV electron-counting energy filter to address advanced EELS, EFTEM and energy-filtered, four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) diffraction studies.
“This solution is a result of the synergy between Gatan and Dectris: our best-in-class direct electron detectors harmoniously integrated into Gatan’s excellent system allow for even more efficient use of low energies in materials science research,” says Dr. Christian Broennimann, Chief Executive Officer of Dectris. “We are excited to witness how this high-performance combination advances energy-filtered techniques.”
“The addition of the Dectris-powered Stela detector will expand the operating range of our flagship GIF Continuum K3 system to low-voltage, electron counted EELS and EFTEM,” commented Narayan Vishwanathan, Vice President and Business Unit Manager of Gatan. “Being more than the sum of its parts, the seamless integration of the Stela on a GIF Continuum K3 results in a single system that is both powerful and easy to use over the full energy range of today’s S/TEMs.”
Such a platform covering the entire energy range of modern electron microscopes is critical for researchers in advanced catalyst design, semiconductor device R&D, and high-performance alloy characterization. Moreover, a successful experiment primarily relies on fast data collection with robust, easy-to-use software for data acquisition and analysis. This collaboration between Gatan and Dectris brings all these aspects together in a single package that enables researchers at all levels to access these critical experimental methods.
Image – Stela Hybrid-Pixel Camera – the only fully integrated hybrid-pixel electron detector with the Gatan Microscopy Suite software for advanced electron diffraction studies.
For more information:
Gatan Ametek
www.ametek.com
Dectris
https://www.dectris.com/
