Quantum Detectors

26/08/2026

What becomes possible when detector performance stops being the limiting factor in an electron microscopy experiment? 🔬

At in Liverpool, Quantum Detectors Applications Scientist Matus Krajnak will explore that question in:

Pushing the Boundaries of TEM and STEM with the Timepix4 ASIC

We've seen strong interest in the capabilities of Merlin T4 and Timepix4, particularly around what faster acquisition, high sensitivity and time-resolved detection can mean for increasingly demanding TEM and STEM experiments.

The so what is the important part.

It's not simply about collecting data faster. It's about opening up experimental possibilities, allowing researchers to capture, measure and investigate phenomena in ways that conventional detector performance can restrict.

📅 Monday 31 August 2026
🕥 Session: 10:35–12:20
📍 Room 3B
🎤 Talk 1355

If you're attending Royal Microscopical Society IMC21, join Matus for the presentation and then visit the Quantum Detectors team at Booth 356 to continue the discussion.

18/08/2026

🔬 How do you know that the contrast you see in an electron microscope is genuinely magnetic?

That is an important challenge in magnetic STEM-DPC.

Structural features within a material can affect the diffraction signal and potentially obscure the much more subtle magnetic information researchers are trying to measure.

Research from Gregory Nordahl and Magnus Nord at NTNU - Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet explored an approach combining:

• NanoMEGAS DigiSTAR electron-beam precession
• A near field-free, objective-off STEM configuration
• Quantum Detectors MerlinEM direct electron detection

By precessing the electron beam across a range of diffraction conditions, the researchers investigated whether structural contributions to the magnetic DPC signal could be reduced.

Using a polycrystalline FeAl thin film containing ferromagnetic structures, the measurements showed reduced grain-related variations in the DPC signal while preserving the underlying magnetic-domain structure.

The pixelated diffraction data acquired with MerlinEM could also be analysed using different approaches, including centre of mass, phase correlation and virtual segmented detection.

It is a powerful example of how direct electron detection, beam control and advanced analysis can work together to help researchers extract subtle information from complex materials.

📄 Read the open-access research:
https://doi.org/10.1093/micmic/ozad001

Abstract. Differential phase contrast in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM-DPC) is a technique used to image electromagnetic fields in materi

03/08/2026

How can atomic-scale imaging help researchers develop future computing materials?

Conventional computing systems use significant time and energy moving data between memory and processing units.

New open-access research from the National University of Singapore and SUTD Singapore University of Technology & Design explores SnP₂S₆ memristors as a possible route towards logic-in-memory hardware, where information could be stored and processed within the same device.

The researchers demonstrated 14 Boolean logic functions, improved switching uniformity and 96% classification accuracy in a proof-of-concept dynamic object-tracking system.

As part of the material characterisation, a Quantum Detectors MerlinEM detector recorded a complete diffraction pattern at every scan position.

The resulting 4D-STEM dataset supported electron ptychographic reconstruction and atomic-resolution phase imaging.

The wider value is the ability to connect what is happening at the atomic scale with how an emerging device performs.

For researchers, this can provide deeper insight into the relationship between material structure, switching behaviour and reliability.

For microscopy teams, collecting the complete diffraction dataset also creates more opportunities for computational analysis and helps maximise the information gained from each experiment.

Read the open-access article:
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202528751

Tin hexathiophosphate memristors leverage intrinsic nanopores together with a guided filament formation strategy to regulate titanium ion motion and switching behavior. The devices support reliable n...

30/07/2026

Are you attending M&M 2026 in Milwaukee?

Come and see Quantum Detectors at Booth 203 and discover how event-based detection is taking researchers from frames to events.

Our technology opens new possibilities for:

🔹 4D-STEM
🔹 Ptychography
🔹 Dynamic TEM

Find out how event-based detection can help you:

✅ Capture every event
✅ Use 200 ps timestamping
✅ Explore recorded event data
✅ Analyse data with greater flexibility

📅 August 2–6
📍 Milwaukee, WI
📌 Booth 203

We would love to see you there.

28/07/2026

Webinar: Smarter acquisition for manageable 4D-STEM data

4D-STEM can generate vast datasets before researchers know whether the chosen scan conditions or region of interest will provide the information they need.

Join Arno Annys from EMAT (Electron Microscopy for Materials Science), University of Antwerp, for a practical webinar exploring how event-driven acquisition, adaptive scanning and real-time ptychography can support better decisions during an experiment, rather than after the data has already been collected.

Discover how these approaches can help researchers:
• Reduce the transfer and processing of unnecessary data
• Identify experimental problems while the sample is still available
• Adapt scan conditions and regions of interest during acquisition
• Make more effective use of microscope time and electron dose
• Move more efficiently from acquisition to scientific interpretation

The webinar will be moderated by Todd Beanlands, Science Editor at SelectScience, and hosted by SelectScience in partnership with Quantum Detectors.

Tuesday 8 September 2026
14:00 BST | 15:00 CEST | 09:00 EDT | 06:00 PDT

Register free:
https://www.selectscience.net/webinar/managing-4d-stem-data-smarter-acquisition

UAntwerpen

23/06/2026

What can Timepix4 performance mean for practical 4D-STEM workflows?

Join Quantum Detectors Ltd. and Thermo Fisher Scientific for a live SelectScience webinar exploring how Timepix4-based detector technology can support advanced electron microscopy and materials characterisation.

Dr. Stefano Vespucci, Staff Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Dr. Matus Krajnak, Application Scientist at Quantum Detectors, will discuss recent Timepix4 performance results in a TEM environment and what they mean for practical 4D-STEM acquisition.

The session will cover:
• Frame-based and Data-driven acquisition modes
• Detector performance considerations for 4D-STEM
• Selected application examples
• Future opportunities for event-driven readout and timestamping

For researchers, scientists and engineers working in 4D-STEM, detector technologies and advanced materials characterisation, this is a chance to hear directly from experts working at the front edge of microscopy innovation.

📅 Tuesday 7 July 2026
🕑 14:00 BST | 15:00 CEST | 09:00 EDT | 06:00 PDT | 22:00 JST
🎓 Certificate of attendance for live attendees

Register free: https://www.selectscience.net/webinar/expanding-the-4d-stem-toolbox-for-advanced-materials-characterization

23/06/2026

Ptychography is helping researchers extract more information from electron microscopy experiments than ever before.

As datasets continue to grow, the challenge is no longer just reconstruction quality, it's managing the data required to get there.

Merlin T4 combines Timepix4 technology with event-based acquisition to support next-generation 4D-STEM and ptychography workflows.

Advanced reconstruction.

Less data burden.
That'll be Merlin T4.

Learn more:
https://quantumdetectors.com/4d-stem-detector/

18/06/2026

Visualising Electric Fields with 4D-STEM and STEM-EBIC

Join Dr Eoin Moynihan, University of Warwick, as he explores how complementary 4D-STEM and STEM-EBIC workflows can reveal electric fields, charge carrier behaviour and in-operando semiconductor device performance at the nanoscale.

For the global electron microscopy and semiconductor research community, this webinar offers practical insight into how advanced detector-enabled workflows can help researchers move beyond structural imaging and understand how devices actually behave.

📅 25 June 2026
🕑 14:00 BST | 15:00 CEST | 09:00 EDT | 06:00 PDT | 22:00 JST

Register here:
https://quantumdetectors.com/4d-stem-electric-field-mapping-webinar/

16/06/2026

Still collecting frames?
For decades, electron microscopy workflows have relied on frame-based acquisition, generating increasingly large datasets that must be stored, transferred and processed before analysis can begin.

Merlin T4 introduces an alternative approach.

By recording individual electron events rather than continuous image streams, researchers can explore new ways to manage data-intensive workflows and unlock the potential of next-generation electron microscopy applications.

From Frames to Events.
That'll be Merlin T4.

Learn more:
https://quantumdetectors.com/event-based-electron-detection/

09/06/2026

Drowning in detector data?
Modern electron microscopy workflows can generate huge datasets, slowing transfer, storage, processing and analysis.

Merlin T4 offers a different approach.

By recording individual electron events as precise X,Y,T coordinates, Merlin T4 gives researchers the potential to reduce unnecessary data burden while supporting advanced workflows including 4D-STEM, ptychography and diffraction.

Capture events, not terabytes.
That’ll be Merlin T4.

Explore event-based electron detection:

https://quantumdetectors.com/event-based-electron-detection/