{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/107101"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/107101","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A nanofabricated amplitude-division electron interferometer in a transmission electron microscope","abstract":"Wavefront-division electron interferometry with the electron biprism has enabled many applications such as electron holography, exit-wave reconstruction, and demonstration of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, wavefront-division interferometry is limited by the requirement of high source coherence. Amplitude-division electron interferometers, first demonstrated by Marton and co-workers in 1954, can overcome this limitation. The implementation of these interferometers is hindered by the precise rotational and translational alignment required. This thesis develops a self-aligned, monolithic electron interferometer consisting of two 45 nm thick silicon layers separated by 20 gm and fabricated from a single crystal silicon cantilever on a transmission electron microscope grid by gallium focused ion-beam milling. Using this interferometer, beam path-separation and interference fringes of lattice periodicity and a maximum contrast of 15% in an unmodified 200 kV transmission electron microscope was demonstrated. This interferometer design can potentially be scaled to millimeter-scale and used in electron holography. It can also be applied to perform fundamental physics experiments such as interaction-free measurement with electrons, with the aim of significantly reducing the damage suffered by biological samples during high-resolution microscopy. Thus, the interferometer can serve as a proof-of-concept of the recently proposed 'Quantum Electron Microscope'.","abstract_html":"Wavefront-division electron interferometry with the electron biprism has enabled many applications such as electron holography, exit-wave reconstruction, and demonstration of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, wavefront-division interferometry is limited by the requirement of high source coherence. Amplitude-division electron interferometers, first demonstrated by Marton and co-workers in 1954, can overcome this limitation. The implementation of these interferometers is hindered by the precise rotational and translational alignment required. This thesis develops a self-aligned, monolithic electron interferometer consisting of two 45 nm thick silicon layers separated by 20 gm and fabricated from a single crystal silicon cantilever on a transmission electron microscope grid by gallium focused ion-beam milling. Using this interferometer, beam path-separation and interference fringes of lattice periodicity and a maximum contrast of 15% in an unmodified 200 kV transmission electron microscope was demonstrated. This interferometer design can potentially be scaled to millimeter-scale and used in electron holography. It can also be applied to perform fundamental physics experiments such as interaction-free measurement with electrons, with the aim of significantly reducing the damage suffered by biological samples during high-resolution microscopy. Thus, the interferometer can serve as a proof-of-concept of the recently proposed 'Quantum Electron Microscope'.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Agarwal, Akshay"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Karl K. Berggren."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016","date_published":"2016","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:59Z","subjects":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107101","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Karl K. 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They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107101"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2016.","\"September 2016.\" Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-62)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Wavefront-division electron interferometry with the electron biprism has enabled many applications such as electron holography, exit-wave reconstruction, and demonstration of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, wavefront-division interferometry is limited by the requirement of high source coherence. Amplitude-division electron interferometers, first demonstrated by Marton and co-workers in 1954, can overcome this limitation. The implementation of these interferometers is hindered by the precise rotational and translational alignment required. This thesis develops a self-aligned, monolithic electron interferometer consisting of two 45 nm thick silicon layers separated by 20 gm and fabricated from a single crystal silicon cantilever on a transmission electron microscope grid by gallium focused ion-beam milling. Using this interferometer, beam path-separation and interference fringes of lattice periodicity and a maximum contrast of 15% in an unmodified 200 kV transmission electron microscope was demonstrated. This interferometer design can potentially be scaled to millimeter-scale and used in electron holography. It can also be applied to perform fundamental physics experiments such as interaction-free measurement with electrons, with the aim of significantly reducing the damage suffered by biological samples during high-resolution microscopy. Thus, the interferometer can serve as a proof-of-concept of the recently proposed 'Quantum Electron Microscope'."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A nanofabricated amplitude-division electron interferometer in a transmission electron microscope"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Karl K. Berggren."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:creator":["Agarwal, Akshay"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-02-22T19:03:35Z"],"dc:date.available":["2017-02-22T19:03:35Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016"],"dc:description":["Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2016.","\"September 2016.\" Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-62)."],"dc:description.abstract":["Wavefront-division electron interferometry with the electron biprism has enabled many applications such as electron holography, exit-wave reconstruction, and demonstration of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, wavefront-division interferometry is limited by the requirement of high source coherence. Amplitude-division electron interferometers, first demonstrated by Marton and co-workers in 1954, can overcome this limitation. The implementation of these interferometers is hindered by the precise rotational and translational alignment required. This thesis develops a self-aligned, monolithic electron interferometer consisting of two 45 nm thick silicon layers separated by 20 gm and fabricated from a single crystal silicon cantilever on a transmission electron microscope grid by gallium focused ion-beam milling. Using this interferometer, beam path-separation and interference fringes of lattice periodicity and a maximum contrast of 15% in an unmodified 200 kV transmission electron microscope was demonstrated. This interferometer design can potentially be scaled to millimeter-scale and used in electron holography. It can also be applied to perform fundamental physics experiments such as interaction-free measurement with electrons, with the aim of significantly reducing the damage suffered by biological samples during high-resolution microscopy. Thus, the interferometer can serve as a proof-of-concept of the recently proposed 'Quantum Electron Microscope'."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107101"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:title":["A nanofabricated amplitude-division electron interferometer in a transmission electron microscope"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:59Z"}