Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced the Thermo Scientific EMPAD G2 detector, a new electron microscopy detector designed to help researchers capture and analyze materials at a much higher level of detail.
The EMPAD G2 Detector is built for high-speed four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM), an advanced imaging technique that captures significantly more information than a conventional electron microscopy image. The additional data can give researchers deeper insight into a material’s structure and properties.
With EMPAD G2, researchers can capture both strong and weak electron signals in the same experiment. This allows them to quantitatively investigate properties such as material structure, chemistry, strain, and electric and magnetic fields from a single acquisition.
The technology is also designed to support a range of advanced 4D STEM applications, including strain mapping, differential phase contrast (DPC), and multi-slice electron ptychography for three-dimensional characterization at the atomic scale.
Designed for the Growing Demands of 4D STEM
As 4D STEM gains wider adoption across academic and industrial research, the ability to collect large volumes of data quickly and accurately is becoming increasingly important.
Researchers often need to measure electron signals spanning an extremely broad range, from very strong signals to subtle, weak signals that can contain important information about a material. EMPAD G2 is designed specifically for these requirements, enabling researchers to capture quantitative data from a single acquisition.
David Muller, Ph.D., Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Engineering at the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University, described the development as an important step for scanning transmission electron microscopy.
“The EMPAD G2 project gave us a unique opportunity to design a detector specifically optimized for STEM, rather than TEM or x-ray imaging,” said Muller.
Integrated Data Collection and Analysis
EMPAD G2 is fully integrated with Thermo Scientific Velox software, giving researchers a streamlined environment for collecting and analyzing different types of microscopy data.
The system can support simultaneous 4D STEM and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) within a single workflow. By bringing these capabilities together, the platform is designed to simplify advanced materials analysis while helping researchers generate more consistent and repeatable results.
For researchers working at the atomic scale, the ability to combine multiple measurements in a single acquisition could make it easier to connect a material’s structure with its chemical, mechanical, electrical and magnetic behavior.
As materials research increasingly moves toward complex, nanoscale and atomic-scale characterization, Thermo Fisher Scientific is positioning the EMPAD G2 as a tool for extracting more quantitative information from each electron microscopy experiment.
Leadership Comment
“The EMPAD G2 gives scientists a deeper view of materials and the information they need to explore what those materials can do,” said Glyn Davies, president, materials and structural analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By making advanced 4D STEM faster, more reliable and easier to use, we can help researchers accelerate discoveries in areas such as semiconductors, energy and advanced materials — and ultimately enable new technologies that can improve our everyday lives.”
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