Handbook

The course on Quantum Devices provides a rigorous but accessible introduction to the working principles and the uncommon properties of nano-engineered electronic devices, whose dynamics no longer obeys the laws of classical physics. Such devices are designed to be the building blocks of future quantum information and communication systems, by allowing to observe and manipulate individual electron charges, measure their spin state, and couple them to quantized electromagnetic fields.The lectures will cover the basics of quantum mechanics, then describe several examples of "quantum bits" based on semiconductors (individual dopant atoms, quantum dots, ...) and superconductors (Cooper-pair boxes, Josephson junctions, ...). Also explained are the quantum point contract, the single-electron transistor and the superconducting quantum interference device, which represent the ultimate detectors of electric and magnetic signals.