Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 38: Poster: Quantum Optics and Photonics I

Q 38.19: Poster

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 16:15–18:15, Orangerie

Electron beam splitter in microwave fields — Robert Zimmermann, Philipp Weber, •Michael Seidling, and Peter Hommelhoff — Lehrstuhl für Laserphysik (FAU), Staudtstraße 1, 91058, Erlangen, Germany

We report on the development of an electron beam splitter based on free electrons manipulated by microwave electric fields applied to micro-structured chips. The working principle is of a Paul trap: a microwave potential applied to electrodes causes an oscillating electric field by which electrons can be guided in a pseudopotential [1]. The transverse confinement naturally provides discretized motional quantum states that govern the motion. Based on the initial designs of guides [2-4], we have developed an electron beam splitter, which is predicted to split coherently. We show ongoing efforts to demonstrate coherent splitting: electron optics are integrated into the setup to overlap both output beams and make interference stripes visible. To establish phase control over the electron and the microwave, a laser triggered SEM is used as a pulsed electron source. The future goal is to show interaction-free measurements [5] with free electrons, which would pave the way for the development of the quantum electron microscope [6].

[1] W. Paul, Rev. Mod. Phys. 62, 531 (1990) [2] J. Hoffrogge, et al.; Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 193001 (2011) [3] J. Hoffrogge and P. Hommelhoff; New J. Phys. 13, 095012 (2011) [4] J. Hammer, et al.; Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 254801 (2015) [5] P. Kwiat, et al.; Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 4763 (1995) [6] W. P. Putnam and M. F. Yanik; Phys. Rev. A 80, 040902(R) (2009)