Data from: Quantification and optimization of ADF-STEM image contrast for beam sensitive materials

Many functional materials are difficult to analyze by Scanning
Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) on account of their beam
sensitivity and low contrast between different phases. The problem becomes
even more severe when thick specimens need to be investigated, a situation
that is common for materials that are ordered from the nanometer to
micrometer length scales or when performing dynamic experiments in a TEM
liquid cell. Here we report a method to optimize annular dark-field (ADF)
STEM imaging conditions and detector geometries for thick and
beam-sensitive low-contrast specimen using the example of a carbon
nanotube/polymer nanocomposite. We carried-out Monte Carlo simulations as
well as quantitative ADF-STEM imaging experiments to predict and verify
optimum contrast conditions. The presented method is general, can be
easily adapted to other beam-sensitive and/or low-contrast materials, as
shown for a polymer vesicle within a TEM liquid-cell, and can act as an
expert guide on whether an experiment is feasible and to determine the
best imaging conditions.