We present an electron interferometer based on near-field diffraction from two nanostructure gratings. Lau fringes are observed with an imaging detector, and revivals in the fringe visibility occur as the separation between gratings is increased from 0 to 3 mm. This verifies that electron beams diffracted by nanostructures remain coherent after propagating farther than the Talbot length zT=2d2/λ = 1.2 mm, and hence is a proof of principle for the function of a Talbot-Lau interferometer for electrons. Distorted fringes due to a phase object demonstrates an application for this new type of electron interferometer.
@article{arxiv.physics/0609063,
title = {Electron interferometry with nano-gratings},
author = {Alexander D. Cronin and Ben McMorran},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0609063},
year = {2015}
}