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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
Published on: January 9, 2014
Electron vortex beams with high quanta of orbital angular momentum
Benjamin J McMorran1, Amit Agrawal, Ian M Anderson
1Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA. mcmorran@nist.gov
Abstract:
Electron beams with helical wavefronts carrying orbital angular momentum are expected to provide new capabilities for electron microscopy and other applications. We used nanofabricated diffraction holograms in an electron microscope to produce multiple electron vortex beams with well-defined topological charge. Beams carrying quantized amounts of orbital angular momentum (up to 100ħ) per electron were observed. We describe how the electrons can exhibit such orbital motion in free space in the absence of any confining potential or external field, and discuss how these beams can be applied to improved electron microscopy of magnetic and biological specimens.
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