Dichroism in the interaction between vortex electron beams, plasmons, and molecules

We study the transfer of orbital angular momentum between vortex electron beams and chiral samples, such as staircase plasmonic nanostructures and biomolecules. Inelastic electron scattering from these samples produces large dichroism in the momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectra. We illustr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters Vol. 113; no. 6; p. 066102
Main Authors: Asenjo-Garcia, A, García de Abajo, F J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 08-08-2014
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Summary:We study the transfer of orbital angular momentum between vortex electron beams and chiral samples, such as staircase plasmonic nanostructures and biomolecules. Inelastic electron scattering from these samples produces large dichroism in the momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectra. We illustrate this phenomenon with calculations for chiral and nonchiral clusters of silver spheres using both focused and extended electron beams, which exhibit ∼10% difference between channels of opposite angular momentum. In addition to its fundamental interest, this remarkably high dichroism suggests a way of spatially resolving chiral optical excitations, including dark plasmons. We also predict a dichroic response when probing a chiral biomolecule, which suggests the use of these electron beams for resolving different enantiomers.
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ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.113.066102