Pixel elements, particle beam microscopes including the same, and associated methods

A pixel element comprising:

• a radiation-sensitive element configured to receive an electromagnetic signal that is representative of a particle beam and to generate and store an electric charge;
• a floating diffusion (FD) node;
• an output stage connected to the FD node and configured to generate a charge signal representative of an amount of electric charge stored in at least a portion of the pixel element;
• and
• a charge storage device separate from the radiation-sensitive element and configured to be selectively connected to the FD node, wherein the charge storage device is configured to be selectively electrically disconnected from the radiation-sensitive element and the FD node,
• wherein the pixel element is characterized by a high-gain charge capacity equal to a charge capacity of the radiation-sensitive element and a low-gain charge capacity equal to a total charge capacity of the FD node and the charge storage device, wherein the pixel element is configured to operate in a high-gain mode, in which the charge signal is a high-gain charge signal that represents the amount of electric charge stored in at least the radiation-sensitive element during an integration period, and a low-gain mode, in which the charge signal is a low-gain charge signal that represents the amount of electric charge stored in at least the charge storage device during the integration period, wherein the charge storage device is configured to store at least a portion of the low-gain charge signal while the charge storage device is electrically disconnected from the FD node, wherein the high-gain charge signal has a high-gain signal dark noise magnitude, wherein the pixel element has a total dynamic range, defined as the ratio of the low-gain charge capacity to the high-gain signal dark noise magnitude, that is at least 100,000:1, wherein, when the pixel element operates in the high-gain mode, the high-gain charge signal exhibits a signal-to-noise ratio ΩH at a crossover signal strength of the electromagnetic signal at which the radiation-sensitive element generates an electric charge equal to the high-gain charge capacity, wherein, when the pixel element operates in the low-gain mode, the low-gain charge signal exhibits a signal-to-noise ratio ΩL at the crossover signal strength, wherein the pixel element is characterized by a normalized crossover noise offset that is defined as α=(ΩH−ΩL)/ΩH, and wherein the normalized crossover noise offset is at least 5% and at most 20%.