About this role
- Core research - Resources & Collaborations PhD position: Optical metasurfaces controlling quantum electron wavepackets Work Activities In this project, you will study the fundamental interactions between high-energy electrons and extreme light fields in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Gaining control over these interactions may lead to new forms of electron microscopy that exploit the quantum-mechanical nature of electron wavepackets. The project uses an emerging technique, photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM), in which electrons in a 1-ps-pulsed electron beam exchange energy with a strongly confined optical near field generated by intense laser pulses. This interaction changes the electrons' energy, which in turn modifies the electron wavepacket in space and time, creating, for example, attosecond electron pulse trains. You will develop specially designed non-local optical metasurfaces to control the interaction of the electrons with the strong light fields. Structured 2D dielectrics integrated with nanometer-thin transition-metal dichalcogenide layers, exhibiting strong optical resonances, will be designed to enhance and control the coupling in an ultrafast 1-30 keV SEM.
Your research will include
- PINEM and metasurface design (years 1): learn to operate the ultrafast SEM at AMOLF, study PINEM theory and modeling, and design and fabricate metasurfaces in the Amsterdam NanoCenter cleanroom.
- PINEM-metasurface integration (year 2): measure the electron-light interaction of optimized metasurfaces and tailor electron wavepackets by design, including through two subsequent coherent PINEM interactions.
- Coherence and entanglement (year 3-4): investigate correlations between electron energy loss and cathodoluminescence, and test a quantum-eraser geometry in which the which-path information is erased.
The project combines the ultrafast electron-light-matter interaction and cathodoluminescence experti...