Characterization of a Timepix detector for use in SEM acceleration voltage range

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Physics
• Electron Microscopy

Background:

• Hybrid pixel direct electron detectors are increasingly utilized in electron microscopy.
• Their affordability makes them suitable for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) setups.
• Characterization is essential for understanding their performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the performance of Advacam Minipix and Advapix detectors.
• To evaluate Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) in the 15-30 keV range.
• To assess the transferability of findings to other Medipix-based detectors.

Main Methods:

• Point Spread Function (PSF) imaging.
• Generation of MTF and DQE curves.
• Measurement of DQE at zero spatial frequency (DQE(0)).

Main Results:

• Presented PSF images, MTF/DQE curves, and DQE(0) values for the detectors.
• Observed silicon detector layer behavior dominance at low beam currents.
• Demonstrated the potential transferability of results to other Medipix2, Timepix, or Timepix3 detectors with identical silicon layers.

Conclusions:

• The characterization provides key performance data for Advacam detectors.
• Findings suggest broad applicability to other silicon-based hybrid pixel detectors.
• These affordable detectors show promise for advanced electron microscopy experiments.