Multi-Segment Detector for Parallax-Corrected Depth Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging techniques in scanning microscopy, particularly scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), face challenges in efficiently extracting structural data from samples with reduced imaging sessions and image data volume, especially when dealing with delicate or radiation-sensitive samples.
Innovation Solution
A novel data analysis approach for scanning transmission microscopy that utilizes a multi-segment detector to process single-scan image data, compensating for image shifts induced by off-axis detection channels to separate phase and depth information, and extract a depth contrast image from a single scan dataset.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple imaging sessions are conducted to extract structural data, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection process into multiple detection channels (e.g., four quadrants) that simultaneously capture different aspects of the transmitted beam information. Each channel detects specific spatial frequency components, allowing comprehensive structural data extraction from a single scan session rather than requiring multiple sequential imaging sessions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional 2D image detection to 4D-STEM detection by adding two additional dimensions: angular distribution and spatial frequency information. The multi-segment detector captures not only the intensity distribution but also the angular scattering information, enabling simultaneous extraction of phase, amplitude, and depth contrast data from a single scan.
2Measurement precision
If multiple imaging sessions are conducted to extract structural data, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous data acquisition by using multiple detection channels that operate simultaneously during a single scan session. The detection process is continuous and uninterrupted, with all detection channels collecting data in parallel, thereby maximizing productivity while maintaining measurement precision through the comprehensive information captured.
Solution Approach 2:
The detector is segmented into multiple independent detection channels that process different aspects of the transmitted beam simultaneously. This segmentation allows parallel data acquisition across all channels during a single scan, significantly improving productivity compared to sequential imaging methods while maintaining high measurement precision through the combined information from all segments.
3Device complexity
If conventional detection methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is divided into multiple segments (e.g., four quadrants) arranged in a cross-like pattern. Each segment detects specific spatial frequency components of the transmitted beam, enabling simultaneous recovery of phase information, amplitude information, and depth contrast that would be lost in conventional single-channel detection methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enhances the detection capability by adding angular and spatial frequency dimensions to the conventional intensity detection. The multi-segment detector measures not only the intensity distribution but also the angular scattering information, thereby recovering phase and depth information that are normally lost in conventional imaging without significantly increasing device complexity.
4Productivity
If single-scan data acquisition is used, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The detector is divided into multiple segments that simultaneously capture different spatial frequency components during a single scan. This segmentation allows the system to extract comprehensive structural information including phase, amplitude, and depth contrast from the single-scan data, maintaining measurement precision while achieving high productivity through rapid data acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from 2D intensity detection to 4D-STEM detection by incorporating angular distribution information. This dimensional enhancement allows the single-scan data to contain sufficient information for precise structural analysis, resolving the trade-off between speed and accuracy by encoding multiple types of information simultaneously in the expanded data space.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method allows for the direct extraction of structural data, including depth contrast images, from a single scan session, enhancing contrast and providing accurate mapping of the electro-optic refractive index, while reducing the need for multiple imaging sessions and associated data volume.
Implementation Method 1
inspection of samples/specimens by scanning microscopy, in particular scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), is based on instantaneous measurements of electron flux as the specimen is illuminated by a focused probe
Implementation Method 2
Tomographic scans acquired with an integrated Center of Mass (iCOM) detector provide direct way to map the electro-optic refractive index in a sample
Implementation Method 3
STEM with pixelated detector can be used to acquire the entire scattering or diffraction pattern for each scanned point
Implementation Method 4
The refractive index is directly related to the local electric potential, which at sufficient resolution could reveal atomic number and possibly molecular charge as long as intensity modulations within the primary diffraction disc are taken care of
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments relate to a computer system for determining a structural image of a sample. The computer system is configured to receive and process raw measured data produced by a scanning microscope and being indicative of at least one scan dataset (IM)N acquired in a scan session and corresponding to a sequence of N measurements on a sample located in proximity to a focal plane of the scanning microscope. Each measurement includes data provided by M detection channels associated with M-segment detector (M≥3). The computer system includes a data analyzer capable of processing at least one scan dataset to compensate image shifts induced by off-axis detection channels for sample features at defocus plane to thereby obtain data indicative of parallax corrected scan image of the sample which enables separation between phase and depth information and extraction of a depth contrast image of the sample from the single scan dataset.