PRESS RELEASE – CELERITAS

DIRECT ELECTRON INTRODUCES CELERITAS

THE WORLD’S FASTEST 4D STEM CAMERA

4D STEM image of strontium titanate, showing the internal electric field in a single atomic column of strontium, captured by Celeritas in 26 ms. Courtesy Paul Voyles, U. Wisconsin

San Diego, CA (USA), June 30, 2021 – Direct Electron, a leading producer of next-generation direct detection cameras for transmission electron microscopes (TEM), today announces Celeritas, a revolutionary new direct detection camera for four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM). Based on a next-generation direct detection sensor, Celeritas far exceeds the frame rate of other 4D STEM detectors while also delivering at least four times more pixels and exceptional image quality.

4D STEM is a cutting-edge technique that uses the richness of information available in STEM for exploring the structure of materials. Rather than a single averaged signal, 4D STEM cameras capture the full electron diffraction pattern so that researchers can peer into the subtle details of data, visualizing atoms that are difficult to see in conventional STEM and extracting information about crystal orientation, strain, electric and magnetic fields, and other important features.

However, until now researchers have had limited choices for 4D STEM detectors. Previous generation 4D STEM detectors took about 15-20 minutes to capture a one-megapixel STEM image, which is far too slow to be practical.

Celeritas is the Latin word for speed, and we could not think of a better word to describe a camera with acquisition speeds up to 100x faster, enabling a one-megapixel STEM image to be captured in about 10 seconds. This introduces a paradigm-shift for 4D STEM, enabling users, for the first time, to capture 4D STEM datasets at speeds comparable to conventional STEM images. 4D STEM experiments that would require hours of data collection with another detector can be performed in minutes using Celeritas.

In addition to its speed, a high dynamic range (HDR) imaging mode offers over 10x higher dynamic range per frame than was achievable in previous monolithic active pixel sensor direct detectors. Fast frame rates and a large number of pixels also facilitate greater dynamic range and enable higher probe currents to be used to acquire data, giving Celeritas the flexibility to operate over an extremely wide range of imaging conditions.

With one million (1024 x 1024) pixels, Celeritas is also an excellent high-speed TEM camera, enabling applications such as ultrafast, sub-millisecond time-resolution in situ TEM imaging.

The advances in both the range of imaging conditions and data throughput offered by Celeritas promise to profoundly increase the productivity of TEM facilities and accelerate discovery in materials sciences.

Dr. Benjamin Bammes, Director of Research and Development at Direct Electron, said, “The speed of Celeritas is remarkable, particularly because we managed to achieve its ultrafast frame rate without sacrificing image quality, pixel area, or dynamic range. This has been a major development effort at Direct Electron over the past five years, building on our lengthy experience in designing advanced low-noise direct detectors and driven by the demands of the materials science community that is always pushing the boundaries of technology.”

Throughout its development, materials science experts provided feedback and advice for Celeritas. These include Prof. Paul Voyles at the Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Prof. Angus Kirkland of Oxford University and the Rosalind Franklin Institute in the United Kingdom. The first Celeritas camera was installed in the Nanoscale Imaging and Analysis Center directed by Prof. Voyles, and the second Celeritas camera will be installed at the Rosalind Franklin Institute under the direction of Prof. Kirkland.

Prof. Paul Voyles said, “I’m tremendously excited about the Celeritas camera. The high speed lets us acquire 4D STEM data like strain maps over large areas and outrun some of the instrumental instabilities of our microscope. It also enables a variety of time-resolved in situ 4D STEM experiments that are impossible without it, like measuring crystal nucleation and growth rates and characterizing the fluctuating atomic structure of supercooled liquids.”

Celeritas is a complete system that includes a high-performance computer and software in addition to the camera module. It is compatible with most commercial TEM/STEM microscopes.

Celeritas is available to order immediately, with delivery for orders placed now expected within the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year.

What’s New

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Direct Electron at IMC21 in Liverpool

Catch up with Direct Electron at IMC21 Direct Electron Applications Scientist Dr. Barnaby Levin will

Direct Electron at M&M 2026!

Direct Electron is excited to attend Microscopy & Microanalysis 2026, the premier annual meeting for

M&M 2026 RUN GROUP

RUN WITH US AT M&M 2026! Make the most of your M&M experience with Direct

HIGH-THROUGHPUT CRYO-EM WITH APOLLO

Up to 2,904 movies per hour and sustained 1,820 movies per hour, reconstructing apoferritin at 1.72 Å in a single afternoon.

Direct Electron at IMC21 in Liverpool

Catch up with Direct Electron at IMC21 Direct Electron Applications Scientist Dr. Barnaby Levin will be presenting three contributions highlighting advances in direct detection and new approaches to data collection across several microscopy applications: Advances in MAPS Direct Detector Technology for EBSD, TKD, LEEM and PEEMMonday, August 31 | Surface Sensitive Microscopy, Analysis and Sample Manipulation | 10:35 AM–12:20 PM A Rapid Electron Counting Detector and GPU Powered Software for In Situ TEMTuesday, September 1 | Poster Session 2 | 5:30–6:30 PM Accelerating In Situ 4D STEM by Combining Custom Scan Patterns and Hardware Drift CorrectionWednesday, September 2 | Innovating Microscopy End-to-End: Hardware, Automation, and AI in Honour of Albert Crewe | 1:40–3:25 PM Direct Electron Cameras in Research at IMC21 We’re also excited to see work from researchers using Direct Electron cameras represented throughout the IMC21 scientific program. Prof. David Bhella, Professor of Structural Virology and Director of the Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging at the University of Glasgow, will present “Frozen in Time: Cryo-EM Reveals Both Conserved and Novel Structural Features in a Divergent Herpesvirus Lineage,” featuring work with the Apollo direct electron detector, during the Cryo-EM session on Tuesday, September 1. Additional work from Bhella and colleagues will be presented during Wednesday’s poster session, including “Revealing the Native Architecture of RSV Replication Complexes Through In-Situ Structural Biology” and “Conformational Analysis of the Measles Virus Nucleocapsid Using Cryo-EM and Molecular Dynamics.” Researchers from the Max Planck Institute will also present several contributions featuring work with the DE-16, spanning ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction: Steady-State Operando Imaging and Laser-Driven Megahertz Cycling of Ultrafast Charge-Density Wave Phase Transitions — Till Domröse Ultrafast Nanobeam Electron Diffraction of Structural Phase Transformations in 2D Materials — Sophie F. Schaible Stimulated Inelastic Electron Holography — Tim Dauwe Ultrafast Electron Microscopy and Free-Electron Quantum Optics — Claus Ropers, invited presentation We’re proud to see Direct Electron technology supporting such a diverse range of microscopy research and look forward to hearing the results in Liverpool. Going to IMC21? Stop by Booth 253 and say hello. We look forward to seeing you there!

Direct Electron at M&M 2026!

Direct Electron is excited to attend Microscopy & Microanalysis 2026, the premier annual meeting for the microscopy community, taking place August 2–6, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We invite attendees to stop by Booth 1130 to explore our latest direct detection technologies and discover the right detector for their application. Visit us to learn more about our flagship Apollo and Celeritas direct detection cameras, as well as our newest detector solutions designed for cryo-EM, SEM, 4D-STEM, EBSD, TKD, LEEM, and PEEM applications. Looking to start your mornings with fellow attendees? Join the conference’s informal morning run/walk, organized by Direct Electron Sales Director Bob Monteverde and MSA member Janet Gbur. The group meets Monday through Thursday at 6:00 AM outside the Baird Center main entrance (400 W. Wisconsin Avenue) for runs of 2–4 miles or a 1-mile walk. We look forward to seeing you in Milwaukee and discussing how Direct Electron can help advance your research.