Probing Chirality with Inelastic Electron-Light Scattering
- 8 May 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Nano Letters
- Vol. 20 (6), 4377-4383
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01130
Abstract
Circular dichroism spectroscopy is an essential technique for understanding molecular structure and magnetic materials; however, spatial resolution is limited by the wavelength of light, and sensitivity sufficient for single-molecule spectroscopy is challenging. We demonstrate that electrons can efficiently measure the interaction between circularly polarized light and chiral materials with deeply subwavelength resolution. By scanning a nanometer-sized focused electron beam across an optically excited chiral nanostructure and measuring the electron energy spectrum at each probe position, we produce a high-spatial-resolution map of near-field dichroism. This technique offers a nanoscale view of a fundamental symmetry and could be employed as “photon staining” to increase biomolecular material contrast in electron microscopy.Funding Information
- Ministerio de Econom?a y Competitividad (MAT2017-88492- R, SEV2015-0522)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SPP 1840 QUTIF)
- H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (752533)
- Leibniz Publik
- Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
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