Speaker
Description
In recent years, there has been growing interest in exploring quantum electron optics in low-energy scanning electron microscope (SEM) systems. These offer numerous practical and technical advantages, including lower cost, substantially larger experimental space, and significantly stronger electron-photon coupling. Recent work has hypothesized that lower electron energies may unlock new physics due to both strong coupling and recoil effects, leading to the generation of exotic states of quantum light. However, designing, manufacturing, and operating such instruments is difficult, requiring expertise in electron optics, detection, mechanical design/manufacturing, and high voltage electronics - meaning that few academic groups have been able to demonstrate such results consistently.
In this work, we outline our work in collaboration with a precision manufacturer to solve these issues, developing an electron spectrometer compatible with commercial SEM stages. Specifically, we demonstrate a retrofittable, in-stage electron spectrometer capable of operating from 1-30 keV, with 0.1 eV energy resolution, and 10 nm spatial resolution, for 2.5 keV electrons. We calibrate this spectrometer with 2D materials and plasmonic nanostructures, demonstrating near-unity coupling efficiency and single-photon loss peaks from gold nanourchins. We outline future work on picosecond time resolution electron counting, integrated cathodoluminescence collection, and in-situ cryogenic holders, all with no modification to the SEM column.