2023/01/26 by Sebastian Pedalino, Bruno Ramírez Galindo, Pedalino, Sebastian +11 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Chemical Physics Studies #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2301.11095
openalex publication_date 2023/01/26 · openalex created_date 2023/01/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We discuss recent advances towards matter-wave interference experiments with free beams of metallic and dielectric nanoparticles. They require a brilliant source, an efficient detection scheme and a coherent method to divide the de Broglie waves associated with these clusters: We describe an approach based on a magnetron sputtering source which ejects an intense cluster beam with a wide mass dispersion but a small velocity spread of 10%. The source is universal as it can be used with all conducting and many semiconducting or even insulating materials. Here we focus on metals and dielectrics with a low work function of the bulk and thus a low cluster ionization energy. This allows us to realize photoionization gratings as coherent matter-wave beam splitters and also to realize an efficient ionization detection scheme. These new methods are now combined in an upgraded Talbot-Lau interferometer with three 266 nm depletion gratings. We here describe the experimental boundary conditions and how to realize them in the lab. This next generation of near-field interferometers shall allow us to soon push the limits of matter-wave interference to masses up to 10 megadaltons.