Coherent Electron Control

创造完全可控的时空量子力学电子波的愿景将在不久的将来实现。这种相干电子控制为新技术的发展和新物理学的探索提供了令人兴奋的可能性。将非常小（纳米级）的部件与超快（飞秒和阿秒）激光结合起来控制电子的挑战将由该基金资助的工作来解决。有史以来最大的封闭区域电子干涉仪将建成，电子开关将以大约一百万千兆赫的极端速率引导信号。拥有一个最大的电子干涉仪（仍然可以装在汽车里）的影响是可以测试新的频率范围和电磁场的灵敏度。使用简单的低频磁强计与霍尼韦尔一起探索，这些设备适用于狩猎潜艇和定位水雷。更高的频率用于检测电磁通信。在科学方面，干涉仪将被用来帮助理解本世纪最大的难题之一，即经典物理学和量子物理学之间的过渡。拥有超快电子开关的影响是，这可能会使新一代设备成为可能，比如最快的显微镜、示波器和信号处理器。教育方面的影响是，将在国家需要的领域为研究生提供培训，而以前的外联工作已经覆盖了大约10万名高中学生。这笔赠款将使这些努力得以继续。

The vision of creating fully controlled spatial and temporal quantum mechanical electron waves will be realized in the near future. Such coherent electron control offers exciting possibilities for the development of new technologies and the exploration of new physics. The challenge to combine very small (nanometer scale) parts with ultrafast (femto- and atto-second) lasers to control electrons is going to be addressed by the work funded through this grant. The largest enclosed area electron interferometer ever will be built, and electron switches directing signals at extreme rates of about a million GigaHertz will be explored. The impact of having a largest electron interferometer (that still fits in a car) is that new frequency ranges and sensitivities of electromagnetic fields can be tested. The use of a simple low frequency magnetometer is explored together with Honeywell and these devices are applicable for hunting submarines and locating mines. Higher frequencies are used for detecting electromagnetic communications. On the scientific side, the interferometer will be used to help understand one of the largest puzzles of the century, which is the transition between classical and quantum physics. The impact of having ultrafast electron switches is that this may enable a new generation of devices, such as the fastest microscopes, oscilloscopes and signal processors. The educational impact is that training for graduate students will be provided in an area of national need, while previous outreach has already reached an estimated 100,000 high school students. This grant will allow a continuation of these efforts.