Study on probe current dependence of the intensity distribution in annular dark field images

► We obtained experimental quantitative annular dark field image of silicon crystal. ► The image contrast in the experiment was decreased as the probe current increases. ► We simulated the annular dark field image using multi-slice calculation. ► The experimental images were compared with the simulation, quantitatively. ► The decrease in the contrast was primarily determined by the size of the cold field emission source.