Generation of a spin-polarized electron beam by multipoles magnetic fields

The propagation of an electron beam in the presence of transverse magnetic fields possessing integer topological charges is presented. The spin--magnetic interaction introduces a nonuniform spin precession of the electrons that gains a space-variant geometrical phase in the transverse plane proportional to the field's topological charge, whose handedness depends on the input electron's spin state. A combination of our proposed device with an electron orbital angular momentum sorter can be utilized as a spin-filter of electron beams in a mid-energy range. We examine these two different configurations of a partial spin-filter generator numerically. The results of these analysis could prove useful in the design of improved electron microscope.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Quantum simulation of a spin polarization device in an electron microscope

A proposal for an electron-beam device that can act as an efficient spin-polarization filter has been recently put forward [E. Karimi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 044801 (2012)]. It is based on combining the recently developed diffraction technology for imposing orbital angular momentum to the beam with a multipolar Wien filter inducing a sort of artificial non-relativistic spin-orbit coupling. Here we reconsider the proposed device with a fully quantum-mechanical simulation of the electron beam propagation, based on the well established multi-slice method, supplemented with a Pauli term for taking into account the spin degree of freedom. Using this upgraded numerical tool, we study the feasibility and practical limitations of the proposed method for spin-polarizing a free electron bea

Full-field mode sorter using two optimized phase transformations for high-dimensional quantum cryptography

High-dimensional encoding schemes have emerged as a novel way to perform quantum information tasks. For high dimensionality, temporal and transverse spatial modes of photons are the two paradigmatic degrees of freedom commonly used in such experiments. Nevertheless, general devices for multi-outcome measurements are still needed to take full advantage of the high-dimensional nature of encoding schemes. We propose a general full-field mode sorting scheme consisting only of up to two optimized phase elements based on evolutionary algorithms that allows for joint sorting of azimuthal and radial modes in a wide range of bases. We further study the performance of our scheme through simulations in the context of high-dimensional quantum cryptography, where high-fidelity measurement schemes are crucial

Holographic generation of highly twisted electron beams

Free electrons can possess an intrinsic orbital angular momentum, similar to those in an electron cloud, upon free-space propagation. The wavefront corresponding to the electron's wavefunction forms a helical structure with a number of twists given by the \emph{angular speed}. Beams with a high number of twists are of particular interest because they carry a high magnetic moment about the propagation axis. Among several different techniques, electron holography seems to be a promising approach to shape a \emph{conventional} electron beam into a helical form with large values of angular momentum. Here, we propose and manufacture a nano-fabricated phase hologram for generating a beam of this kind with an orbital angular momentum up to 200$\hbar$. Based on a novel technique the value of orbital angular momentum of the generated beam are measured, then compared with simulations. Our work, apart from the technological achievements, may lead to a way of generating electron beams with a high quanta of magnetic moment along the propagation direction, and thus may be used in the study of the magnetic properties of materials and for manipulating nano-particles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures - Supplementary Material (3 pages and 2 figures) accompanies this manuscrip

Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion and Spin-Polarization Filtering in Electron Beams

We propose the design of a space-variant Wien filter for electron beams that induces a spin half-turn and converts the corresponding spin angular momentum variation into orbital angular momentum of the beam itself by exploiting a geometrical phase arising in the spin manipulation. When applied to a spatially coherent input spin-polarized electron beam, such a device can generate an electron vortex beam, carrying orbital angular momentum. When applied to an unpolarized input beam, the proposed device, in combination with a suitable diffraction element, can act as a very effective spin-polarization filter. The same approach can also be applied to neutron or atom beams.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Nondestructive Measurement of Orbital Angular Momentum for an Electron Beam

Free electrons with a helical phase front, referred to as "twisted" electrons, possess an orbital angular momentum (OAM) and, hence, a quantized magnetic dipole moment along their propagation direction. This intrinsic magnetic moment can be used to probe material properties. Twisted electrons thus have numerous potential applications in materials science. Measuring this quantity often relies on a series of projective measurements that subsequently change the OAM carried by the electrons. In this Letter, we propose a nondestructive way of measuring an electron beam's OAM through the interaction of this associated magnetic dipole with a conductive loop. Such an interaction results in the generation of induced currents within the loop, which are found to be directly proportional to the electron's OAM value. Moreover, the electron experiences no OAM variations and only minimal energy losses upon the measurement, and, hence, the nondestructive nature of the proposed technique.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, and supplemental material that is comprised of text and 4 figure