title: Characterizing the response of a scintillator-based detector to single electrons.
abstract: Here we report the response of a high angle annular dark field scintillator-based detector to single electrons. We demonstrate that care must be taken when determining the single electron intensity as significant discrepancies can occur when quantifying STEM images with different methods. To account for the detector response, we first image the detector using very low beam currents (∼8fA), and subsequently model the interval between consecutive single electrons events. We find that single electrons striking the detector present a wide distribution of intensities, which we show is not described by a simple function. Further, we present a method to accurately account for the electrons within the incident probe when conducting quantitative imaging. The role detector settings play on determining the single electron intensity is also explored. Finally, we extend our analysis to describe the response of the detector to multiple electron events within the dwell interval of each pixel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Xiahan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Electronic address: jmlebeau@ncsu.com.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: LeBeau
keywords: Detector response; Quantitative imaging; STEM; Scintillator; Single electron counting