A compact electron matter wave interferometer for sensortechnology

Remarkable progress can be observed in recent years in the controlled emission, guiding,and detection ofcoherent, free electrons. Those methods were applied in matter waveinterferometersleading to high phase sensitivities and precise sensor technologies for dephasing influences such asmechanicalvibrations or electromagnetic frequencies. However, the previous deviceshave been large laboratory setups. For future sensor applications or tests of thecoherenceproperties of an electron source, small, portable interferometers are required.Here, we demonstrate a compact biprism electron interferometer that can be used for mobile applications.The design was optimized for small dimensions by beam path simulations. The interferometer has a lengthbetween the tip and the superposition plane before magnification of only 47 mm andprovides electron interference patterns with a contrast up to 42.7%. The detection of two dephasing frequencies at 50 and150 Hz was demonstrated applying second order correlation and Fourier analysis of theinterference data.