Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector

Direct electron detector camera for cryo-EM

The Thermo Scientific Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector is an ideal solution for your single particle analysis  and  cryo-tomography applications. With its exceptional combination of high image quality, high throughput, efficient lossless data compression enabled via electron-event representation (EER), and a streamlined solution for data management and quality monitoring, the Falcon 4i Detector offers a productivity and performance boost over other detectors.

 

When the Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector is paired with the Thermo Scientific Selectris and Selectris X Imaging Filters, you can obtain high-resolution structures quickly, revealing new biological insights. To further increase productivity, the Falcon 4i Detector is fully integrated in Thermo Scientific EPU and Tomography Software, allowing for smooth daily instrument operation and data acquisition. The camera’s output is recorded through the Data Management Platform (DMP) powered by Thermo Scientific CryoFlow Software that offers easy project administration and automated organization of images and metadata for remote and collaborative access.

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The new Thermo Scientific Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector in 4 minutes

The Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector is 30% faster while maintaining unsurpassed imaging quality with high detective quantum efficiency. Lossless data compression with Electron Event Representation and improved throughput increases productivity.

Note: The Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector is fully compatible with the latest-generation 200 kV and 300 kV Thermo Scientific Krios, Glacios, and Talos Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopes (Cryo-TEMs) operating with Windows 10. A Falcon 4i Upgrade Kit is available for the Falcon 4 Direct Electron Detector and Thermo Scientific Selectris and Selectris X Imaging Filters.

Key features of the Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector

Exceptional image quality through higher DQE

Get leading detective quantum efficiency (DQE) across the full spatial frequency range. High DQE at low spatial frequency lets you visualize and align smaller and more flexible proteins, while high DQE at high spatial frequencies lets you achieve results with fewer images or increased resolution.

Plot of DQE and spatial frequency

Large pixels with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)

The large signal generated by the Falcon 4i Detector’s large pixels, combined with low noise, yields high SNR. Electron events can be unambiguously separated from the background noise (left) in comparison to detectors with smaller pixels (right).

Comparison of Falcon 4i Detector and alternative detector pixels

Higher throughput for more images per hour


The increased internal frame rate, in combination with improved overhead, yields a significant increase in throughput, depending on the use case.

Visual representation of more images per hour

Lossless data compression with electron-event representation (EER)

Electron-event representation (EER) data enables efficient cryo-EM file storage with full preservation of spatial and temporal resolution. Counted events of all raw frames are available for processing with full temporal resolution (320 fps) and spatial resolution (events are localized to one-sixteenth of a pixel). This super resolution capability maximizes the benefit of the Falcon 4i Detector’s superior DQE at high spatial frequencies.

Records of spatial and temporal resolution

Sample data using the Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector

Apoferritin 1.2 Å reconstruction

This 1.2 Å resolution reconstruction of apoferritin was created from 3,600 images of 297k particles acquired in 6 hours (EPU Software data acquisition on the Krios Cryo-TEM). Recorded at a dose rate of 5.4 e/p/s.

Apoferritin reconstruction

Amyloid- β 42 filament 2.5 Å reconstruction

Cryo-EM structures of Amyloid-β 42 filaments isolated from human brain. Data was collected at a flux of 8 e/p/s; magnification of 0.74 A/pix; 40 e/A² total dose and a throughout of 570 movies/hr resulting into a 2.5 Å reconstruction. (Data collected in collaboration with MRC – Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge).

Cryo-EM structures of Amyloid- β 42 filament

Homopentameric GABAA receptor at 2.1Å resolution

3D SPA reconstruction of the Homopentameric GABAA receptor at 2.1Å resolution. Images were acquired on a Krios Cryo-TEM with the Falcon Direct Electron Detector 4 Camera and EER and processed with Relion 3. Image courtesy of: Radu Aricescu, MRC-LMB Cambridge, UK and Abhay Kotecha, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

3D single particle reconstruction of Homopentameric GABAA receptor at 2.1Å resolution

Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector specifications

Camera architecture Direct electron detection
Sensor size 4,096 x 4,096 pixels, ~5.7 cm x 5.7 cm2
Pixel size 14 x 14 μm2
TEM operating voltage 200 kV, 300 kV
Internal frame rate 320 fps
Frame rate to storage 320 fps (EER mode)
Camera overhead time 0.5 s per acquisition
File formats EER (native), MRC, TIFF, LZW TIFF
Lifetime (<10% DQE degradation) 5 years in normal use (1.5Ge/px)
Detection modes

Electron counting mode

Survey mode (fast linear mode)
Imaging performance in EER mode (4k x 4k) 300 kV 200 kV
DQE (0) 0.92 0.91
DQE (½ Nq) 0.72 0.62
DQE (1 Nq) 0.50 0.33

Product documentation

Falcon 4i Detector datasheet

Preview of Falcon 4i Detector datasheet

Improving Productivity with fringe-free imaging (FFI)

Front page preview of FFI datasheet

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

1x1 image pixel for data collection