We characterize a hybrid pixel direct detector and demonstrate its suitability for electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The detector has a large dynamic range, narrow point spread function, detective quantum efficiency ≥ 0.8 even without single electron arrival discrimination, and it is resilient to radiation damage. It is capable of detecting ~5 × 106 electrons/pixel/second, allowing it to accommodate up to 0.8 pA per pixel and hence >100 pA EELS zero-loss peak (ZLP) without saturation, if the ZLP is spread over >125 pixels (in the non-dispersion direction). At the same time, it can reliably detect isolated single electrons in the high loss region of the spectrum. The detector uses a selectable threshold to exclude low energy events, and this results in essentially zero dark current and readout noise. Its maximum frame readout rate at 16-bit digitization is 2250 full frames per second, allowing for fast spectrum imaging. We show applications including EELS of boron nitride in which an unsaturated zero loss peak is recorded at the same time as inner shell loss edges, elemental mapping of an STO/BTO/LMSO multilayer, and efficient parallel acquisition of angle-resolved EEL spectra (S(q, ω)) of boron nitride.
