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Laser-based preparation, manipulation, and readout of the states of quantumparticles has become a powerful research tool that has enabled the most precisemeasurements of time, fundamental constants, and electromagnetic fields. Lasercontrol of free electrons can improve the detection of electrons' interactionwith material objects, thereby advancing the exploration of matter on theatomic scale. For example, temporal modulation of electron waves with light hasenabled the study of transient processes with attosecond resolution. Incontrast, laser-based spatial shaping of the electron wave function has not yetbeen realized, even though it could be harnessed to probe radiation-sensitivesystems, such as biological macromolecules, at the standard quantum limit andbeyond. Here, we demonstrate laser control of the spatial phase profile of theelectron wave function and apply it to enhance the image contrast intransmission electron microscopy. We first realize an electron interferometer,using continuous-wave laser-induced retardation to coherently split theelectron beam, and capture TEM images of the light wave. We then demonstrateZernike phase contrast by using the laser beam to shift the phase of theelectron wave scattered by a specimen relative to the unscattered wave.Laser-based Zernike phase contrast will advance TEM studies of proteinstructure, cell organization, and complex materials. The versatile coherentcontrol of free electrons demonstrated here paves the way towardsquantum-limited detection and new imaging modalities.

Laser control of the electron wave function in transmission electron microscopy