Abstract
Here we present a new paradigm of free-electron–bound-electron resonant interaction. This concept is based on a recent demonstration of the optical frequency modulation of the free-electron quantum electron wave function (QEW) by an ultrafast laser beam. We assert that pulses of such QEWs correlated in their modulation phase, interact resonantly with two-level systems, inducing resonant quantum transitions when the transition energy matches a harmonic of the modulation frequency . Employing this scheme for resonant cathodoluminescence and resonant EELS combines the atomic level spatial resolution of electron microscopy with the high spectral resolution of lasers.
- Received 25 September 2019
- Revised 2 December 2019
- Accepted 13 January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.064801
© 2020 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Excited by Shaped Electrons
Published 13 February 2020
Electrons with a modulated wave function might enable improvements in electron microscopy and quantum computing.
See more in Physics