Wave and Particle in Molecular Interference Lithography

Author(s)
Thomas Juffmann, Stefan Truppe, Philipp Geyer, András Major, Sarayut Deachapunya, Hendrik Ulbricht, Markus Arndt
Abstract

The wave-particle duality of massive objects is a cornerstone of quantum physics and a key property of many modern tools such as electron microscopy, neutron diffraction or atom interferometry. Here we report on the first experimental demonstration of quantum interference lithography with complex molecules. Molecular matter-wave interference patterns are deposited onto a reconstructed Si(111) 7×7 surface and imaged using scanning tunneling microscopy. Thereby both the particle and the quantum wave character of the molecules can be visualized in one and the same image. This new approach to nanolithography therefore also represents a sensitive new detection scheme for quantum interference experiments.

Organisation(s)
Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information
External organisation(s)
Burapha University
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Volume
103
No. of pages
4
ISSN
0031-9007
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.263601
Publication date
2009
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103026 Quantum optics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/e7a5ae10-54dd-4a3c-8a42-dafa82892a45