Controlling electrons in time and space
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 15:07
in Physics & Chemistry
In an electron microscope, electrons are emitted by pointy metal tips, that way the 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. Scientists have now developed a method of controlling electron emission with higher precision than ever before. With the help of two different laser pulses it is now possible to switch the flow of electrons on and off on extremely short time scales.