Controlling electrons in time and space
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 08:01
in Physics & Chemistry
In an electron microscope, electrons are emitted by pointy metal tips, so they can be steered and controlled with high precision. Recently, such metal tips have also been used as high precision electron sources for generating X-rays. A team of researchers at TU Wien (Vienna), together with colleagues from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), have developed a method of controlling electron emissions with higher precision than ever before. With the help of two laser pulses, it is now possible to switch the flow of electrons on and off on extremely short time scales.