Fast, radiation hard, direct detection CMOS imagers for high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy

This work presents the development of radiation-hard CMOS monolithic pixel sensors as direct electron detectors for high resolution, fast dynamic imaging in Transmission Electron Microscopy. The R&D path from small scale prototypes to megapixel, reticle size sensors manufactured in 0.35 and 0.18 µm commercial CMOS processes is briefly reviewed. Design challenges and solutions are highlighted, with reporting on the achieved imaging performance and radiation hardness of sensors that can ultimately achieve readout rates as high as 6.4 gigapixels/s. Further, we will report on the latest search for an improved pixel architecture and layout, and introduce the evaluation of a first prototype sensor manufactured in a 65 nm CMOS process.