Charged particle guiding and beam splitting with auto-ponderomotive potentials on a chip

Electron and ion beams are indispensable tools in numerous fields of science and technology, ranging from radiation therapy to microscopy and lithography. Advanced beam control facilitates new functionalities. Here, we report the guiding and splitting of charged particle beams using ponderomotive forces created by the motion of charged particles through electrostatic optics printed on planar substrates. Shape and strength of the potential can be locally tailored by the lithographically produced electrodes' layout and the applied voltages, enabling the control of charged particle beams within precisely engineered effective potentials. We demonstrate guiding of electrons and ions for a large range of energies (from 20 to 5000 eV) and masses (from 5 · 10^-4 to 131 atomic mass units) as well as electron beam splitting for energies up to the keV regime as a proof-of-concept for more complex beam manipulation.