Exploring metal nanoparticles for matter-wave interferometry

High-mass matter-wave interferometry opens interesting perspectives for testing fundamental physics while posing intriguing challenges in experimental technologies. Here we explore the source and detection techniques that will be basis next generation of quantum experiments with objects at least one order magnitude more massive than current state art. Magnetron sputtering provides a means to produce continuous metal cluster beam large variability material composition, structure, temperature, velocity, electric, magnetic properties. The mass-scalable nanoparticles come high ionization yield detected brilliance up ${10}^{11} {\mathrm{sr}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ ${\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ clusters. We find favorably slow narrow velocity distributions mass-filtered clusters 800 kDa, which can also readily ionized, manipulated, by 266 nm UV laser light. source-detector combination demonstrate here fulfills essential requirements nanoparticle interferometry.