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. 2025 Nov;300(2):217-226.
doi: 10.1111/jmi.70011. Epub 2025 Jul 26.

Stability of electron ptychography at low electron dose

M Dearg  1 , N Michaelides  1 , J Gilbert  1 , Z Ding  2 , Z Aslam  3 , D G Hopkinson  4 , C S Allen  2   4 , L Clark  1
Affiliations

Stability of electron ptychography at low electron dose

M Dearg et al. J Microsc. 2025 Nov.

Abstract

Electron ptychography provides a promising avenue towards dose-efficient, high-resolution materials characterisation. Prior work demonstrates the feasibility of this approach, but an overarching view on the reliability of ptychographic images in low-dose scenarios is required. Here, we address this limitation with a systematic study of image clarity across dose, thickness and convergence semi-angle, on a range of materials science specimens. With the now widespread adoption of 4D-STEM and ptychographic imaging, the establishment of the practical parameter space in which one can anticipate a reliably interpretable phase image is urgently needed. In some cases, our parameter space exploration confirms high-resolution imaging at doses of 200 e - ${\rm e}^-$ Å - 2 $^{-2}$ .

Keywords: 4D‐STEM; SSB; electron microscopy; low dose; ptychography; single side band.

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References

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