Patent Description:
Crystallographic information of crystals can be obtained based on their three-dimensional (3D) electron diffraction data, that is, electron diffraction patterns acquired from different angles of a crystal relative to an electron beam. In one example, 3D diffraction data may be acquired by tilting crystals relative to a charged particle beam using stage tilt. The sample and/or the charged particle beam is usually shifted during the data acquisition process to compensate for any sample shift introduced by the stage tilt. Such data acquisition workflow may be time consuming due to the need for correction and the relatively slow stage tilt. Further, long exposure may cause radiation damage to the crystal. There is a need to develop efficient and fast workflows for acquiring 3D diffraction data, especially when large amounts of crystals need to be analyzed. Such may be the case when analyzing powders consisting of nanocrystals. Conventionally, such powders can be analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction, but the spectra obtained this way are an ensemble average, and it may be challenging to extract crystallographic information from the X-ray spectra due to the overlap of peaks in the spectra.

Document <CIT> describes serial acquisition of diffraction patterns at tilted angles.

In one embodiment, a method comprises acquiring a sample image of a crystalline sample; selecting multiple crystals in the sample image; determining coordinates of the multiple selected crystals; directing an electron beam towards each of the multiple selected crystals, wherein at a location of each selected crystal, adjusting the electron beam to acquire multiple diffraction patterns of the selected crystal at different incident angles, and the selected crystal is not rotated by a sample holder while the electron beam is directed towards the selected crystal; and extracting crystallographic information from the multiple diffraction patterns. By adjusting the incident angles via tilting the electron beam at each selected crystal, the 3D electron diffraction dataset may be quickly and efficiently acquired.

It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

The following description relates to systems and methods for acquiring three-dimensional (3D) diffraction data such as 3D electron diffraction (ED) data, to obtain crystallographic information of a sample. The sample may include impurity and/or a collection of crystals of different structure. Multiple 3D ED datasets may be formed from the acquired 3D ED data, wherein each dataset (or a diffraction tilt series) includes a crystal's 3D ED patterns acquired at various angles relative to the electron beam. Structure of a crystal may be obtained by analyzing a subset of 3D ED datasets. Statistically relevant crystallographic information of the sample may be obtained by analyzing all 3D ED datasets. The ED pattern is acquired in a transmission mode, that is, the scattered electrons are acquired from the side of the sample which is opposite from the electron source. The ED patterns may be acquired by a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) system shown in <FIG>, a bifocal microscopy system shown in <FIG>, or a scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) system. If a TEM system is used, the microscope may be switched between an imaging mode for acquiring the sample image and a diffraction mode for acquiring the ED pattern. Mode switching in the TEM system may require adjusting one or more lenses in the optical column. <FIG> shows the TEM system in a low magnification (LM) imaging mode. <FIG> shows the TEM system in a selected-area (SA) imaging and SA diffraction mode.

The bifocal microscopy system has been disclosed by <CIT>, and by <CIT>. The bifocal microscopy system splits the electron beam generated from an electron source into an imaging beam and a diffraction beam using a bifocal beamformer. The bifocal beamformer changes the focal property of either or both of the imaging beam and the diffraction beam. For example, the two beams focus at different focal planes orthogonal to the optical axis of the microscope. Further, the bifocal beamformer may break the cylindrical symmetry of any one of the two beams. The imaging beam is used for acquiring the sample image and the diffraction beam is used for acquiring the ED pattern. The bifocal system may acquire the sample image and the ED pattern of the same crystal simultaneously. To reduce radiation exposure, either the sample image or the ED pattern may be individually acquired by blocking or blanking the imaging beam or the diffraction beam. Comparing to the TEM system, the bifocal microscopy system can switch between sample imaging and diffraction acquisition in less time and with less error.

In order to solve the crystal structure, a complete 3D ED dataset, that is, ED patterns covering a sufficiently large tilt range of the crystal is needed. In "<NPL>et al. disclose a method of identifying crystal locations in the imaging mode and acquiring one diffraction pattern of each selected crystal at each goniometer position. The collection of diffraction patterns is then used for identifying the crystal structure. However, because only one diffraction pattern is acquired for each crystal, prior information such as lattice parameters and the space group are required for unambiguous indexing the crystals and solving the crystal structure. In "<NPL>et al. disclose determining crystal structure based on continuous rotation electron diffraction, wherein the diffraction patterns are acquired while the crystal rotates. However, Cichocka's method requires crystal tracking during crystal rotation and frequent switching between in-focus diffraction mode and defocus diffraction mode. Applicant recognizes that in order to extract statistically relevant information, such as the phase distribution, polymorphism and chirality of the sample, ED patterns of a large number of crystals have to be acquired. As a result, neither Smeets' nor Cichocka's method is suitable for efficiently extracting statistically relevant crystallographic information.

To solve the above issues, various workflows for acquiring the 3D ED dataset are presented herein. In one example, a sample image of the crystalline sample is first acquired. The sample image is acquired at a resolution at which the size and shape of the crystals may be determined. Multiple crystals shown in the sample image may be selected for acquiring the ED data, and the locations or coordinates of the selected crystals are determined also based on the sample image. The crystals may be selected based on one or more of their size, morphology, distribution, and contrast in the sample image. Multiple ED patterns are acquired for the multiple selected crystals. The electron beam is shifted to irradiate each of the selected crystals and tilted within a range of beam tilt angles so that each ED pattern of the selected crystal has a different angle of incidence. The incident angle is defined by the angle between the incident beam and an axis (such as the optical axis) perpendicular to the sample, as well as the plane of incidence (the plane containing the incident beam and the axis perpendicular to the sample). The incident angles are different when the values of the incident angles are different or the planes of incidence are different. Only beam tilt, but no sample tilt, is used for adjusting the incident angle. In other words, the sample is not rotated/tilted by the sample holder while the electron beam is directed towards the selected crystal. The sample may remain stationary during the entire time that the selected crystal is visited by the electron beam, from the time that the electron beam moves to the selected crystal to the time that the electron beam moves to the next selected crystal. In one example, the incident angle is from -<NUM> to <NUM> degrees relative to the optical axis. In another example, the incident angle is from -<NUM> to <NUM> degrees relative to the optical axis. In yet another example, the range of the incident angle is less than <NUM> degrees. The range of the incident angle is set small to reduce beam movement at the specimen plane due to aberrations of the illumination optics, and this way keep the incoming beam aligned to the crystal position. The range is also set small to keep optical distortion of the diffraction pattern sufficiently small. In one example, the incident angle is adjusted by tilting the electron beam at a fixed angle step, so that the ED patterns may be acquired at multiple discrete incident angles. In another example, the ED patterns may be acquired while continuously tilting the electron beam. The electron beam may be tilted within a plane orthogonal to the specimen plane or multiple planes orthogonal to the specimen plane. In other examples, the beam tilt schemes may be precession at a fixed tilt angle, or precession in combination with tilt angle variation (e.g. spiral scan). In some examples, the beam tilt schemes may incorporate corrections for optical aberrations, to minimize beam displacement at the sample and to correct for small deviations from the desired tilt increment. The electron beam may be tilted by a deflector upstream of the sample. For the bifocal beam system, the deflector may be the bifocal beamformer, wherein the diffraction beam is tilted for ED pattern acquisition. By acquiring multiple ED patterns of the multiple crystals via beam tilt, 3D ED datasets suitable for extracting statistical crystallographic information may be automatically collected. A limited tilt range has two additional advantages, <NUM>) the need to adjust the eucentric stage height when visiting crystals at different z-heights is relaxed, and <NUM>) finer angular sampling allows for better noise reduction when integrating peak intensities.

In another example, the crystalline sample is held on a TEM grid including multiple grid windows for TEM imaging. The TEM grid may include a perforated support foil like lacey carbon. Crystals located within the grid windows can be imaged or probed by the electron beam. The TEM grid may be translated within a specimen plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging system via a sample holder. In order to cover a large TEM grid area, an overview sample image covering multiple windows of the TEM grid is acquired by stitching multiple sample images together. The sample images may be acquired by translating the sample within the specimen plane with the sample holder. Coordinates of the selected crystals are determined based on the overview image. Further, coordinates of the center of each window on the TEM grid may be determined based on the overview image. After moving the center of the window into the FOV of the imaging system by translating the TEM grid with the sample holder and/or shifting the electron beam with a deflector, the selected crystals in each window or in a sub-region of each window may be probed by combined beam shift and beam tilt, without moving the sample.

In another example, after acquiring a first sample image for selecting the crystals, the electron beam location is calibrated before acquiring the multiple ED patterns. The beam location calibration may correct errors introduced by sample movement, such as the sample movement when translating the TEM grid to probe a particular grid window. The beam location calibration may also correct beam displacement due to mode switching. For calibrating the beam location, a second sample image may be acquired. The current beam location may be determined by comparing the second sample image with the first sample image acquired for crystal selection. In one example, the first sample image is an overview image acquired in the LM imaging mode, and the second sample image is acquired in the SA imaging mode. Calibrating the beam location includes registering the SA sample image with the overview image. After calibrating the beam location, the microscope may be adjusted to the SA diffraction mode, and ED patterns of multiple crystals are acquired via combined beam shift and beam tilt. In another example, with the bifocal microscopy system, the beam location may be calibrated with the imaging beam, for example, by comparing the sample images acquired with the imaging beam before and after sample movement. The ED patterns may then be acquired using the diffraction beam based on the calibrated beam location.

In yet another example, after selecting the crystals in the sample image, a diffraction heatmap may be generated by scanning the sample in the diffraction mode. The scanned area may be the same as the field of view (FOV) of the sample image. The diffraction heatmap is formed based on diffraction scores of the ED patterns. The diffraction score representing the quality of the ED pattern. The locations of the selected crystals may be updated based on the diffraction heatmap. Further, based on the diffraction heatmap, the selected crystals may be re-evaluated to identify sub-regions within the crystal for ED pattern acquisition.

Turning to <FIG>, a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) system <NUM> is shown in different modes of operation. The TEM system <NUM> includes an electron source <NUM> that emits electron beam <NUM> along optical axis <NUM>, towards condenser optics <NUM>. The electron source <NUM> may generate high energy electrons, that is, electrons having typical energies of between about <NUM> keV and <NUM>,<NUM> keV. In some embodiments, the condenser optics <NUM> may include one or more condenser lenses and one or more apertures. Deflector <NUM> positioned downstream of the condenser optics <NUM> shifts and/or tilts the electron beam relative to the optical axis <NUM>. Pre-sample objective lens <NUM> positioned downstream of the deflector <NUM> collimates the electron beam and directs the electron beam onto sample <NUM>. The sample <NUM> may be held by a sample holder <NUM> in a specimen plane <NUM>. In some examples, the sample is positioned on a TEM grid attached to the sample holder. The sample holder <NUM> may adjust sample position by tilting the sample relative to the optical axis and/or translating the sample within the specimen plane. Scattered electrons transmitted through sample <NUM> sequentially passes through post-sample objective lens <NUM> and projector system <NUM>, and are collected by detector <NUM> positioned on the opposite side of sample <NUM> relative to electron source <NUM>. The detector <NUM> may detect the received electrons and send the signal to image processor <NUM> to form an image. The detector <NUM> may include an amplifier for amplifying the signal before sending the signal to the image processor <NUM>. In one example, the detector <NUM> may be a CCD camera or a CMOS camera. In some embodiments, different detectors may be used for diffraction pattern acquisition and sample image acquisition.

<FIG> shows the TEM system <NUM> operated in the low magnification (LM) imaging mode. Dashed lines <NUM> illustrate beam path of scattered electrons from a point of the sample to detector <NUM> in the LM imaging mode, wherein the post-sample objective lens <NUM> is off or operated with low excitation voltage for acquiring a sample image with large FOV and low resolution. Beam stopper <NUM> may be used to intercept the intense unscattered beam. The projection system <NUM> is operated differently in an imaging mode (such as LM imaging mode or SA imaging mode) and in a diffraction mode (such as SA diffraction mode).

<FIG> shows the TEM system <NUM> operated in the SA imaging mode and the SA diffraction mode. Dashed lines <NUM> illustrate beam path of scattered electrons from sample <NUM> to detector <NUM> in the SA diffraction mode. In the SA diffraction mode, the projector system <NUM> images the back focal plane <NUM> of the post-sample objective lens <NUM> to detector <NUM>. The beam stopper <NUM> is inserted into the optical axis <NUM> to block the unscattered beam. Dashed lines <NUM> illustrate beam path of scattered electrons from sample <NUM> to detector <NUM> in the SA imaging mode. In the SA imaging mode, the specimen plane <NUM> is imaged to the SA plane <NUM>, and the projector system <NUM> images the SA plane <NUM> to detector <NUM>. The beam stopper <NUM> is retracted from the optical axis <NUM>. Sample image acquired in the SA imaging mode may have a smaller FOV and higher magnification comparing to the sample image acquired in the LM imaging mode. In one example, a SA aperture may be inserted in the beam path. The SA aperture may be the positioned in the SA plane <NUM>. Alternatively, an aperture in the condenser optics <NUM> may serve as beam limiting aperture. In another example, an image deflector may be positioned between the sample and the detector for shifting and tilting the electrons transmitted through the sample back to the optical axis, so that the ED pattern stays centered on the detector during beam tilt and the image stays centered on the detector during beam shift. The image deflector <NUM> may be positioned between the back focal plane <NUM> and the SA plane <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may control the operation of TEM system <NUM>, either manually in response to operator instructions or automatically in accordance with computer readable instructions stored in non-transitory memory (or computer readable medium) <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may include a processor and be configured to execute the computer readable instructions and control various components of the TEM system <NUM> in order to implement any of the methods described herein. For example, the controller may adjust the TEM system to operate in any one of the LM imaging mode, SA imaging mode, and the SA diffraction mode by adjusting one or more of the SA aperture <NUM>, the excitation of the objective lens <NUM>, the beam stopper <NUM>, and the projector system <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may adjust the beam location and/or the beam incident angle on the sample by adjusting the deflector <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may further be coupled to a display <NUM> to display notifications and/or signals detected by detector <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may receive user inputs from user input device <NUM>. The user input device <NUM> may include keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen. The controller may be configured to extract crystallographic information of the crystals based on the acquired datasets.

Though the TEM system is described by way of example, it should be understood that the sample image and diffraction pattern may be acquired with other charged particle microscopy systems. As another example, the charged particle microscopy system is a scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) system. In that case, sample images can be made in scanning STEM mode, and diffraction images can be obtained with a (quasi) parallel beam. The present discussion of the TEM system is provided merely as an example of one suitable imaging modality.

<FIG> show an example embodiment of a bifocal microscopy system <NUM>. The bifocal microscopy system <NUM> includes a bifocal beamformer for splitting the electron beam generated by an electron source into an imaging beam for acquiring sample image and a diffraction beam for acquiring the ED pattern. The bifocal beamformer may modify the focal properties of any one of the imaging beam and the diffraction beam. <FIG> shows the bifocal microscopy system <NUM> in the XZ plane and <FIG> shows the bifocal microscopy system <NUM> in the YZ plane. The imaging beam and the diffraction beam may irradiate the sample simultaneously so that the sample image and the ED pattern are acquired simultaneously by a detector. This can be accomplished by choosing a suitable defocus value for the projector <NUM>, in which case diffraction information can be obtained while the projector system is in image mode. Alternatively, either the ED pattern or the sample image may be acquired individually by blocking or blanking the imaging beam or the diffraction beam. Comparing to the TEM system <NUM>, the bifocal microscopy system <NUM> does not require lens adjustment between sample image and ED pattern acquisitions, therefore may avoid errors introduced by mode switching and reduce the overall 3D ED dataset acquisition time.

In the bifocal microscopy system <NUM>, electron beam <NUM> generated by electron source <NUM> along optical axis <NUM> is focused by lens system <NUM> and enters accelerator <NUM>. The electron beam exited from accelerator <NUM> sequentially passes through a first condenser <NUM>, a second condenser <NUM>, and enters bifocal beamformer <NUM> as a converging beam. The bifocal beamformer <NUM> splits the electron beam into an imaging beam <NUM> and a diffraction beam <NUM> travelling along different directions. Herein, a quadrupole electromagnetic field is generated by the bifocal beamformer to the imaging beam, which causes a change in the focal properties of the imaging beam. In order to change the focal properties of at least one of the charged particle beams, the bifocal beamformer may apply at least a quadrupole lensing effect to the at least one of the charged particle beams that focuses, stigmates, and/or otherwise modifies at least one of the beams such that the corresponding focal properties of the beams are made different. For example, bifocal beamformer expands the imaging beam in the XZ plane (as shown in <FIG>) and focuses the imaging beam in the YZ plane (as shown in <FIG>. The diffraction beam passes an aperture of the bifocal beamformer <NUM> without changing its focal property. The diffraction beam focuses on multipole device <NUM>, which may be a stigmator, positioned downstream of the bifocal beamformer. The multipole device <NUM> corrects the quadrupole lensing effect caused by the bifocal beamformer on the imaging beam and makes the imaging beam cylindrically symmetric. In some examples, the multipole device is omitted and the imaging beam remains cylindrically asymmetric before irradiating the sample. After exiting the multipole device <NUM>, the imaging beam is focused on a beam selection plane <NUM> by a third condenser <NUM> positioned downstream of the multipole device <NUM>. In one example, the imaging beam or the diffraction beam may be selected by an aperture of the third focusing lens positioned at the beam selection plane <NUM>. Alternatively, the aperture may be positioned at other locations downstream of the bifocal beamformer. Downstream of the third condenser <NUM>, one or both of the imaging beam and the diffraction beam may be directed onto sample <NUM> by sequentially passing through the mini-condenser <NUM> and the pre-sample objective lens <NUM>. The sample is held by sample holder <NUM> in the specimen plane. The scattered electrons from sample <NUM> are collected by detector <NUM> after passing through the post-sample objective lens <NUM> and projector <NUM>, positioned sequentially along the optical axis <NUM> downstream of sample <NUM>. The zoomed-in view of beam paths in area <NUM> is shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates bifocal system <NUM> with the diffraction beam being shifted and tilted in the XZ plane. Comparing to <FIG>, the diffraction beam is tilted towards the X direction by the bifocal beamformer <NUM>, and the beam path of the imaging beam remains the same. In <FIG>, the diffraction beam <NUM> is focused on the optical axis <NUM> at the location of the multipole device <NUM>. In <FIG>, the focus of diffraction beam <NUM> at the multipole device <NUM> is shifted along the X axis. As a result, a different location of the sample, which is still within the FOV of the sample image, is probed for ED pattern collection. The beam paths in area <NUM> is shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> show zoomed-in view of area <NUM> of <FIG> and <FIG>, respectively. In <FIG>, the beam path of imaging beam <NUM> is the same. The imaging beam <NUM> focuses on the optical axis <NUM>, between the pre-sample objective lens <NUM> and sample <NUM>. By adjusting the bifocal beamformer, the diffraction beam <NUM> is tilted relative to optical axis <NUM> in <FIG> comparing to <FIG>. In both <FIG>, the diffraction beam <NUM> is focused on the focused diffraction pattern plane <NUM>, between sample <NUM> and post-sample objective lens <NUM>. The diffraction beam is quasi-parallel at the specimen plane. The diffraction beam may have a convergence angle <5mrad. The intersection between the diffraction beam <NUM> and sample <NUM> shifted right along the X direction from <FIG>. By adjusting the bifocal beamformer, different sample areas within the FOV of the sample image acquired by the imaging beam may be probed with the diffraction beam. In this way, different crystals can be selected for diffraction analysis.

In one example, a second deflector (such as image deflector <NUM> in <FIG>) may be positioned between the sample and the detector for shifting and tilting the electrons transmitted through the sample back to the optical axis.

In another example, a third beam deflector <NUM> may be positioned downstream of the third condenser <NUM> for shifting and tilting the diffraction beam. Instead of the bifocal beamformer, the third beam deflector can be used for selecting the crystals for diffraction probing. Note that the second beam deflector <NUM> also affect the imaging beam.

In yet another example, the imaging beam and the diffraction beam may be interchanged. For example, the diffraction beam may travel along the optical axis <NUM>, and the imaging beam traveling through an aperture offset from the optical axis. In another example, the focal property of the diffraction beam is changed via the bifocal beamformer, and the focal property of the imaging beam remains the same. In yet another example, both focal properties of the diffraction beam and the imaging beam are changed by the bifocal beamformer, while the focal properties of the diffraction beam and the imaging beam are different.

The controller <NUM> may control the operation of the bifocal microscopy system <NUM>, either manually in response to operator instructions or automatically in accordance with computer readable instructions stored in non-transitory memory (or computer readable medium) <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may include a processor <NUM> and be configured to execute the computer readable instructions and control various components of system <NUM> in order to implement any of the methods described herein. The controller <NUM> may adjust the energy of the charged particle beam irradiated towards the sample by adjusting the high voltage level of the charged particle source <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may adjust the sample position and/or orientation by adjusting the sample holder <NUM>. The controller <NUM> receives data acquired from detector <NUM> and generates sample image and/or ED pattern based on the acquired data. The controller <NUM> may further be coupled to display <NUM> to display notifications and/or images of the sample. The controller <NUM> may receive user inputs from user input device <NUM>. The user input device <NUM> may include keyboard, mouse, and/or touchscreen. The controller may be configured to extract crystallographic information of the crystals based on the acquired ED datasets.

The controller <NUM> may adjust the beam properties of the imaging beam and/or the diffraction beam at the specimen plane by adjusting the bifocal beamformer <NUM>. For example, adjusting the beam tilt angle of the diffraction beam at the specimen plane may include adjusting the degree of deflection of the diffraction beam at the bifocal beamformer, wherein the degree of deflection may be adjusted by adjusting the dipole strength of the bifocal beamformer. Adjusting the optical properties of the charged particle beams at the specimen plane (such as the illuminated area, ratio of diameter of the two beams, and mutual tilt angle between the two beams) includes adjusting the excitation of one or more condenser lenses. Further, the system may include additional condenser lenses to provide the flexibility. In some embodiments, instead of positioning the bifocal beamformer downstream of the accelerator, the bifocal beamformer may be positioned upstream of the accelerator and the sample, and the multipole element positioned between the bifocal beam former and the sample.

The controller <NUM> may adjust the bifocal beamformer <NUM> and one or more lenses in the optical column for switching between the bifocal multibeam imaging mode and the normal TEM, and/or scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). In the normal TEM and STEM mode, only one charged particle beam is formed by the optical column.

<FIG> shows method <NUM> of acquiring the 3D ED dataset for determining crystal structure. Multiple crystals of the sample are positioned in a specimen plane of the microscopy system, such as the microcopy systems of <FIG>. In one example, the crystals are randomly distributed on a TEM grid attached to a sample holder. The crystals in a region of interest (ROI) are selected based on a sample image for ED pattern acquisition. The selected crystals are probed by a parallel or quasi-parallel electron beam by shifting the electron beams in the specimen plane. At the location of each selected crystal, the electron beam is tilted to acquire multiple ED patterns with different incident angles. The ED patterns of the selected crystals can be merged to form a complete 3D ED dataset for solving the 3D molecular structure. More importantly, multiple 3D ED datasets of different crystals in the sample can be compared for extracting statistically relevant crystallographic information.

At <NUM>, the sample image is acquired showing the ROI of the sample. The resolution of the sample image is sufficiently high to resolve the crystals. For example, each crystal can be represented by multiple pixels in the sample image. The sample image may be used for crystal selection. Further, locations of the crystals and the TEM grid windows can be established based on the sample image.

To cover a large sample area (or a large ROI), the sample image may be an overview image formed by stitching multiple sample images together. <FIG> shows an example overview image <NUM> generated from multiple sample images. Each sample image covers a tile indexed from <NUM> to <NUM>. The sample images may be acquired by scanning the sample in a spiral scanning pattern by shifting the sample in the specimen plane, following the sequence of the tile index. The sample images in this example are acquired in the LM imaging mode, with 400x magnification.

Turning back to <FIG>, at <NUM>, a subset of crystals within the sample image are selected for 3D ED data acquisition. The crystals may be selected based on one or more of the size, the morphology, the shape, the image contrast, and the distribution of the crystal. In one example, crystals with diameters within a predetermined diameter range may be selected. The diameter range may be determined based on the estimated crystal size so that a large cluster of multiple crystals and/or debris on the TEM grid are not probed for ED pattern. In another example, crystals with a distance greater than a predetermined minimum distance from adjacent crystals are selected. The minimum distance may be determined based on the size of the diffraction beam at the specimen plane and the range of the incident angle to ensure that only one crystal is probed for ED pattern. The coordinates of the selected crystals are determined based on the sample image. Further, location of the TEM grid windows (such as coordinates of the center of each hole) may be determined based on the sample image. The coordinates may be the pixel number in the sample image. The crystals may be selected and located using computer vision and/or AI assisted imaging processing method.

In some examples, step <NUM> may include determining whether the particle shown in the sample image is a crystal based on whether diffraction peaks can be observed in the ED pattern when the particle is probed under diffraction mode. Any particle that cannot generate the ED pattern is excluded from the subset of crystals.

At <NUM>, if the area for probing the crystals for ED collection is smaller than the ROI, a portion of the ROI is optionally translated into the diffraction probing area so that multiple selected crystals within the portion may be probed without sample movement or tilt by the sample holder. The diffraction probing area may be determined based on the beam deflection range for shifting the beam in the specimen plane. For example, the sample holder may shift a TEM grid window into the diffraction probing area based on the coordinates of the grid window center. <FIG> shows that by shifting the TEM grid with the sample holder, the optical axis shifts from the center <NUM> of tile <NUM> to the center <NUM> of grid window <NUM>, in the direction indicated by arrow <NUM>. However, sample movement inaccuracy may cause the optical axis to misalign with the center of the grid window and electron beam location needs to be calibrated.

At <NUM> of <FIG>, the electron beam location may optionally be calibrated. Through the calibration, beam location error introduced by lens adjustment (such as lens adjustment during mode switching) and/or sample movement may be corrected. For example, beam location calibration may correct beam displacement due to the mode switching from the LM imaging mode to the SA imaging mode or the SA diffraction mode at <NUM>, and/or stage inaccuracy when moving a particular TEM grid window into the FOV at <NUM>.

Calibrating the beam location may include determining a beam displacement by comparing a second sample image acquired at the current beam location with the sample image of the ROI from <NUM>. The second sample image may have a higher resolution and smaller FOV comparing to the sample image at <NUM>. For example, after sample movement at <NUM>, a SA sample image at 10Kx magnification, such as SA sample image <FIG>, is acquired in the SA imaging mode, as shown in <FIG>. The beam displacement is determined by registering the SA image with sample image <FIG> acquired at step <NUM>. The circled area <NUM> in <FIG> is imaged in SA image <FIG>. The center <NUM> of the circled area <NUM> displaced from the center <NUM> of sample image <FIG>, indicating that there is beam displacement <NUM> from the beam location at step <NUM> to the current beam. In one example, the electron beam may be shifted back to the its expected location, such as center <NUM> of grid hole. In another example, coordinates of the selected crystals may be updated based on the beam displacement.

The beam displacement along the X and Y axes of the sample image may be expressed as [Δx, Δy], wherein Δx, Δy are projections of beam displacement <NUM> on the X and Y axes, respectively. The beam shift for correcting the beam displacement may be calculated as: <MAT> wherein BS_x and BS_y are beam shift to correct the beam displacement; a and b are known parameters representing the relationship, such as rotation and scaling, between the beam displacement and the beam shift. The beam shift BS_x and BS_y may be current settings of the deflector coils. The beam shift BS_x and BS_y may be applied to the deflector when shifting the beam to each of the selected crystal at <NUM>.

At <NUM>, the electron beam is directed to one of the selected crystals in the diffraction probing area for ED pattern collection by shifting the electron beam in the specimen plane. The location of the selected crystal may be the coordinates determined from <NUM>, or the updated coordinates from <NUM>.

At <NUM>, multiple ED patterns of the crystal are acquired by tilting the electron beam, so that each ED pattern is acquired at a different incident angle. The incident angles are different when the values of the incident angles are different or the planes of incident angles (or the planes of incidence) are different. In one example, the electron beam is tilted in one or more planes orthogonal to the specimen plane. In another example, the electron beam is tilted spirally relative to an axis, such as the optical axis. In another examples, the beam is tilted in precession at a fixed tilt angle, or a combination of precession and tilt angle variation (e.g. spiral scan). The electron beam may be tilted relative to a beam pivot point. The beam pivot point may locate between the pre-sample objective lens and the post-sample objective lens. In one example, the beam pivot point is between the specimen plane and the post-sample objective lens. In another example, the beam pivot point in on the specimen plane. The beam pivot point may be on the optical axis for a TEM or STEM system. The electron beam is tilted within a beam tilt range so that the beam shift caused by pre-specimen lens aberrations on the specimen plane is small compared to the beam size. In other words, the same selected crystal is irradiated by the electron beam despite the beam shift induced by the beam tilt. The range of the incident angle may be less than <NUM> degrees. In one example, the incident angle is from -<NUM> to <NUM> degrees. In another example, the incident angle is -<NUM> to <NUM> degrees. In some examples, the beam tilt schemes may incorporate corrections for optical aberrations, to minimize beam displacement at the sample and to correct for small deviations from the desired tilt increment.

In one example, the ED patterns may be collected at discrete incident angles. That is, one ED pattern is acquired after tilting the beam for a step size angle. In another example, the ED patterns may be collected while the beam is continuously tilted. As such, each ED pattern covers a range of incident angles, wherein the range depends on the beam tilt speed and the data acquisition speed for each ED pattern.

In another example, step <NUM> may check the quality of the acquired diffraction patterns and determine whether to include them in the 3D ED datasets. If the acquired ED pattern is not a typical ED pattern of a crystal, method <NUM> may stop collecting the ED patterns at the current location and move to <NUM>.

At <NUM>, method <NUM> optionally checks whether ED patterns of all selected crystals in the diffraction probing area have been collected. If the answer is NO, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM> to acquire the ED patterns of the next selected crystal. If ED patterns of all selected crystals in the current diffraction probing area have been collected, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM> to check whether any portion of the ROI has not been probed. If there is any portion of the ROI left to be probed for ED pattern, method <NUM> moves to <NUM> to acquire ED patterns from another portion of the ROI. For example, if there any TEM grid window left, the next TEM grid window is moved into the diffraction probing area for ED pattern acquisition. If all of the ROI has been probed, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM>. In some examples, if the diffraction probing area is not smaller than the ROI, method <NUM> may skip steps <NUM> and <NUM>, and proceeds to <NUM> directly from <NUM>.

At <NUM>, method <NUM> checks whether the ED pattern collection is complete. If the ED pattern collection is complete, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM>. If the answer is NO, ED patterns of the next crystal are acquired. In one example, the sample may optionally be rotated about a sample rotation axis in the specimen plane with the sample holder, and ED patterns of the selected crystals on the rotated sample are acquired with beam tilt. The sample rotation angle may be greater than the maximum beam tilt angle. For example, the sample rotation angle may be <NUM>-<NUM> degrees. When probing selected crystals (such as selected crystals in a TEM grid window) away from the sample holder rotation axis, the sample holder may also be adjusted in the z-direction, along the optical axis, to bring the crystals towards the specimen plane.

At <NUM>, the ED patterns from all of the selected crystals are sorted, indexed, and classified based on various parameters (phase, crystal symmetry, SNR of pattern, etc). ED patterns of the same class are merged into a 3D ED dataset, and molecule 3D structure may be determined using conventional electron crystallography software packages. More importantly, statistical information of the sample can be extracted from multiple 3D ED datasets. The statistical information may include sample purity, mixture ratios of the sample, polymorphs of a certain crystal, phase distribution, and chirality of the sample. In some embodiments, step <NUM> includes centering and distortion correction of the ED patterns due to, for example, beam tilt, before merging the ED patterns.

In this way, ED patterns of a larger number of crystals can be efficiently and quickly acquired. Multiple 3D ED datasets may be obtained for extracting statistically relevant crystallographic information. Comparing to tilting the crystal with the sample holder, method <NUM> does not require setting the crystal at eucentric height or complicated sample tracking. Comparing to acquiring one ED pattern for each crystal, by tilting the electron beam, precise and finely angular sampled ED patterns can be acquired, probing a 3D section of reciprocal space, which eliminates the requirement of prior information on lattice parameters for determining the crystal structure.

In another embodiment, method <NUM> may be executed using the bifocal microscopy system shown in <FIG>. The sample image of the ROI may be acquired using the imaging beam and ED patterns of each selected crystal may be acquired using the diffraction beam. Because switching between sample imaging and ED pattern acquisition does not require adjusting any lens in the optical column, the frequency of beam location calibration may be reduced.

<FIG> shows another example method <NUM> of acquiring the 3D ED dataset for determining structure of a crystalline sample. Different from method <NUM> shown in <FIG>, in method <NUM>, after selecting the crystals based on the sample image, a diffraction heatmap is generated by scanning the sample and acquiring an ED pattern at each scanning location. In one example, the sample is scanned with the electron beam using the TEM system in the diffraction mode (such as the SA diffraction mode shown in <FIG>). In another example, the sample is scanned with the diffraction beam of the bifocal microscopy system. At each scanning location, a diffraction score representing the quality of the ED pattern is generated. A diffraction heatmap is generated with the diffraction scores. The crystals may be re-selected based on the diffraction heatmap. Further, coordinates of the selected crystals may be updated based on the diffraction heatmap.

At <NUM> and <NUM>, similar to steps <NUM> and <NUM> of <FIG>, the sample image include a ROI of the sample is acquired by setting the microscope in the imaging mode. The sample image may be stitched together from multiple images acquired by translating the sample stage.

At <NUM>, if the diffraction probing area of the microscope is smaller than the area of the ROI, a portion of the ROI is optionally moved into the diffraction probing area. In some examples, after sample movement at <NUM>, the beam location may be calibrated as shown in step <NUM> of <FIG>.

At <NUM>, a diffraction heatmap is generated. The diffraction heatmap may be generated by scanning the diffraction probing area with the electron beam (or the diffraction beam of the bifocal microscope) and/or moving the sample position in the specimen plane with the sample holder. The step size of the scan may be determined by the beam size at the specimen plane. For example, the step size may increase with the increased beam size. The step size may be further determined based on the range of the incident angle. At each scanning location, an ED pattern is acquired and scored. The diffraction score representing the quality of the ED pattern. For example, the diffraction score increases with increased intensity of the ED pattern. The pixel values of the diffraction heatmap corresponds to the diffraction score of the ED pattern at the corresponding scanning location. <FIG> shows an example diffraction heatmap. Pixels with higher intensity (brighter) correspond to higher diffraction score.

At <NUM>, the crystals selected at <NUM> is updated based on the heatmap. For example, crystals corresponding to pixels with diffraction scores lower than a threshold diffraction score are removed from the subset of selected crystals. Further, beam location may be corrected based on the heatmap. For example, beam location may be corrected by comparing the coordinates of selected crystals determined at <NUM> with the heatmap, as location of high diffraction score in the heatmap correlates to crystal location. Further, the diffraction heatmap may optimize the diffraction probing. For example, for a large crystal, sub-regions within the crystal which have high diffraction scores may be selected, and multiple ED patterns may be acquired at each sub-region of the crystal.

At <NUM>, the electron beam is directed to one of the selected crystals by beam shift, and multiple ED patterns of the crystal are acquired at <NUM> by beam tilt. In one example, the coordinates of the selected crystals are the coordinates determined at <NUM>. In another example, the coordinates of the selected crystals are the updated coordinates determined at <NUM>. In yet another example, the coordinates of the selected crystals are determined based on the diffraction heatmap. The coordinates of the selected crystals may be locations in the diffraction heatmap with high diffraction score and separated from other high diffraction scores with a distance greater than a threshold distance.

If the diffraction probing area is smaller than the area of the ROI, at <NUM>, method <NUM> checks whether all crystals in the diffraction probing area have been probed. If the answer is NO, ED patterns of the next selected crystal are acquired at <NUM>. Otherwise, method <NUM> moves to <NUM> to check whether any portion of the ROI has not been probed for ED pattern acquisition. If all of the ROI have been probed, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM>. If there is any portion of the ROI left to be probed, method <NUM> proceeds to <NUM> to acquire ED patterns from another portion of the ROI.

At <NUM>, method <NUM> checks whether the ED pattern collection is complete. If the answer is NO, ED patterns of the next selected crystal are acquired at <NUM>. If the answer is YES, at <NUM>, the ED patterns from all selected crystals are merged to form a complete 3D ED dataset, and crystal structure is determined based on the complete 3D ED dataset.

In another example, a diffraction heatmap may be generated for the entire ROI after or before acquiring the sample image, and the crystals are further selected based on the diffraction heatmap at <NUM>. Further, crystal locations may be determined based also on the diffraction heatmap. In one example, the diffraction heatmap may be acquired by operating the microscope in the diffraction mode, such as the SA diffraction mode shown in <FIG>.

In one embodiment, method <NUM> may be executed using the bifocal microscopy system shown in <FIG>. The sample image of the ROI may be acquired using the imaging beam. The diffraction heatmap and ED patterns of each selected crystals may be acquired using the diffraction beam.

Claim 1:
A method, comprising:
acquiring a sample image of a crystalline sample;
selecting multiple crystals in the sample image;
determining coordinates of the multiple selected crystals;
directing an electron beam (<NUM>) towards each of the multiple selected crystals, wherein at a location of each selected crystal, adjusting the electron beam (<NUM>) to acquire multiple diffraction patterns of the selected crystal at different incident angles, characterized in that the selected crystal is not rotated by a sample holder (<NUM>) while the electron beam (<NUM>) is directed towards the selected crystal; and
extracting crystallographic information from the multiple diffraction patterns.