Thermo Fisher Scientific Introduces the Thermo Scientific™ EMPAD™ G2 Electron Detector to Advance Materials Research

New detector enables faster 4D STEM imaging, helping researchers uncover material properties with greater speed and detail

Key highlights:

• Innovation: EMPAD G2 helps researchers capture more information about materials in a single scan, recording both the strongest and weakest signals without sacrificing imaging speed or data quality.
• Performance: EMPAD G2 runs at 10,000 frames per second (0.1 ms/frame), with exceptionally high single-frame dynamic range (>10⁷), single-electron sensitivity and operation across the full 30–300 kV range.
• Workflow: EMPAD G2 is fully integrated with Thermo Scientific™ Velox™ software, enabling researchers to collect and analyze 4D STEM and EDS data in a single workflow for faster, more reliable materials characterization.

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today introduced the Thermo Scientific™ EMPAD™ G2 detector, a new detector designed to help researchers see and understand materials in unprecedented detail.

EMPAD G2 enables high-speed four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM), an advanced form of electron microscopy that captures far more information about a material than a standard image, helping researchers better understand its structure and properties.

“The EMPAD G2 gives scientists a deeper view of materials and the information they need to explore what those materials can do,” said Glyn Davies, president, materials and structural analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By making advanced 4D STEM faster, more reliable and easier to use, we can help researchers accelerate discoveries in areas such as semiconductors, energy and advanced materials — and ultimately enable new technologies that can improve our everyday lives.”

Capturing weaker signals alongside stronger ones can help researchers measure characteristics, including a material’s structure, chemistry, strain and electric and magnetic properties in a single experiment. EMPAD G2 supports advanced applications, ranging from strain mapping and differential phase contrast (DPC) to multi-slice electron ptychography for three-dimensional characterization at the atomic scale.

As 4D STEM becomes more widely used in academic and industrial research, detector performance is increasingly important. Researchers need to capture large amounts of information quickly while accurately measuring signals that can range from extremely strong to extremely weak. EMPAD G2 is designed specifically to meet these demands and help researchers get reliable quantitative information from a single acquisition.

According to David Muller, Ph.D., Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Engineering at the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University, this new technology represents an important milestone for scanning transmission electron microscopy. “The EMPAD G2 project gave us a unique opportunity to design a detector specifically optimized for STEM, rather than TEM or x-ray imaging,” said Muller.

EMPAD G2 is also fully integrated with the user-friendly Thermo Scientific Velox software. Researchers can collect and analyze multiple types of data, including simultaneous 4D STEM and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) within a single workflow. This integration helps simplify advanced materials analysis and supports more reliable, repeatable results.

To learn more about EMPAD G2, please visit thermofisher.com/empad.

FAQs:

What is 4D STEM, and why does it need a specialized detector?

4D STEM records a complete diffraction pattern at every point as an electron beam scans a sample, revealing structural, chemical, strain and magnetic information a standard image cannot. It generates enormous, fast-moving data, so it needs a detector that is both extremely fast and able to record faint and intense signals accurately at once. EMPAD G2 is built for exactly that.

What is dynamic range and why does it matter?

Dynamic range is a detector's ability to measure both very strong and very weak signals at the same time. In 4D STEM, the most valuable quantitative information is often contained in faint diffraction features that appear alongside an intense central beam. If a detector cannot accurately capture this full range of signals, researchers may lose important information or need to compromise between recording the brightest or weakest features.

Thermo Scientific EMPAD G2 overcomes this challenge by combining exceptionally high single-frame dynamic range, high-speed acquisition, and single-electron sensitivity, enabling more accurate and reproducible quantitative 4D STEM measurements from a single acquisition.

What makes EMPAD G2 different from other detectors?

Most detectors lose accuracy as beam current rises, forcing users to trade speed or dose for data quality. EMPAD G2 is designed to maintain high detective quantum efficiency (DQE >0.9) across its operating range while running at 10,000 frames per second, so researchers can push speed, current and quantitative accuracy at the same time.

What can researchers use EMPAD G2 for?

Applications include strain mapping in advanced semiconductor structures, ptychography for super-resolution imaging, magnetic and electric field mapping, and combined 4D STEM plus EDS workflows. In practical terms, that supports faster development of next-generation electronics, memory and energy materials.

Is EMPAD G2 available now, and how does it fit existing systems?

EMPAD G2 will be available on Aug. 31, 2026, and is fully integrated with Thermo Scientific Velox software as part of Thermo Fisher's 4D STEM platform.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $45 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.