Electron vortex beams for chirality probing at the nanoscale

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Streshkova, Neli Laštovičková, Koutenský, Petr, Kozák, Martin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Streshkova, Neli Laštovičková
Koutenský, Petr
Kozák, Martin
author_facet Streshkova, Neli Laštovičková
Koutenský, Petr
Kozák, Martin
contents In this work we propose a method for probing the chirality of nanoscale electromagnetic near fields utilizing the properties of a coherent superposition of free-electron vortex states in electron microscopes. Electron beams optically modulated into vortices carry orbital angular momentum, thanks to which they are sensitive to the spatial phase distribution and topology of the investigated field. The sense of chirality of the studied specimen can be extracted from the spectra of the electron beam with nanoscale precision owing to the short picometer de Broglie wavelength of the electron beam. We present a detailed case study of the interaction of a coherent superposition of electron vortex states and the optical near field of a golden nanosphere illuminated by circularly polarized light as an example, and we examine the chirality sensitivity of electron vortex beams on intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanoantennae.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_05579
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Electron vortex beams for chirality probing at the nanoscale
Streshkova, Neli Laštovičková
Koutenský, Petr
Kozák, Martin
Optics
In this work we propose a method for probing the chirality of nanoscale electromagnetic near fields utilizing the properties of a coherent superposition of free-electron vortex states in electron microscopes. Electron beams optically modulated into vortices carry orbital angular momentum, thanks to which they are sensitive to the spatial phase distribution and topology of the investigated field. The sense of chirality of the studied specimen can be extracted from the spectra of the electron beam with nanoscale precision owing to the short picometer de Broglie wavelength of the electron beam. We present a detailed case study of the interaction of a coherent superposition of electron vortex states and the optical near field of a golden nanosphere illuminated by circularly polarized light as an example, and we examine the chirality sensitivity of electron vortex beams on intrinsically chiral plasmonic nanoantennae.
title Electron vortex beams for chirality probing at the nanoscale
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.05579