Electron waves refract negatively
Graphene subs for metamaterials to elicit backward bending
By Andrew Grant
Nearly a decade after getting waves of light to bend backward, physicists have done the same with electrons.
Electrons coursing through a sheet of carbon atoms exhibited negative refraction, bending at angles not seen in nature, physicists report September 14 in Nature Physics. By exploiting this unusual bending, the researchers created a lenslike device to focus the electrons to a tiny point. The new technique could help physicists learn how to manipulate electrons in the tight confines of miniaturized electronic devices, where the particles often behave like waves.