ECE 730 Topic 28 - Fall 2013

ECE 730 Topic 28 - Physics of Nanoscale Devices

INSTRUCTOR

Professor Christopher Wilson
Office Hours: by appointment (via email)

LECTURE HOURS

To be determined

DESCRIPTION

As the size of electronic devices has shrunk in the last decades, coherent quantum effects have become increasingly important to their behavior. While sometimes a nuisance for traditional electronics, these effects are now being exploited by a new generation of nanoscale devices that promise enhanced performance and even radically new capabilities. This course gives an overview of the fundamental physics of these devices, often referred to as mesoscopic physics, with an emphasis on illustrating the physical consequences of quantum mechanics through the novel characteristics and performance of nanoscale devices.

COURSE/TEACHING OBJECTIVES

This course will help students with a basic background in solid state or device physics to:

  • deepen their understanding of how quantum effects can influence and define device performance
  • gain an overview of existing nanoscale devices as a foundation for future research
  • broaden their understanding of mesoscopic physics

PREREQUISITE

Quantum mechanics, basic solid state or device physics, linear algebra

SYLLABUS

  1. Fundamentals of mesoscopic electron transport (6 hours)
    Review of classical transport; Coherent and ballistic transport; Tunneling; Landauer-Buttiker formalism; 2D and 1D transport; Conductance quantization; Aharonov-Bohm effect; Weak localization and conductance fluctuations; Mesoscopic noise
  2. Charging effects and single electronics (6 hours)
    Coulomb blockade; Single-electron box; single-electron transistor; RF-SET; Orthodox theory
  3. Low-dimensional systems (6 hours)
    2D electron gas; Quantum Hall effect; Nanowires, nanotubes and 1D transport; Quantum point contacts; quantum dots
  4. Mesoscopic Superconductivity (6 hours)
    Superconducting basics; Cooper-pairs and quasiparticles; Josephson junctions; Flux quantization and SQUIDS; single-cooper box
  5. Solid-State Qubits (6 hours)
    Superconducting qubits; Semiconductor qubits; Circuit quantum electrodynamics
  6. Special Topics (6 hours)
    Students will give presentations on topics of interest to themselves drawn from current literature

TEXTBOOK

There will be no required textbook

GENERAL REFERENCES

  • Electronic Transport in Mesoscopic Systems, Supriyo Datta, Cambridge University Press (1997)
  • Quantum transport, Y. V. Nazarov et Y. M. Blanter. Cambrirdge University Press, (2009).
  • Introduction to mesoscopic physics 2nd Edition, ,Y. Imry, Oxford University Press (2002).

MARKING SCHEME

  • Homework: 10%
  • Oral presentation: 15%
  • Term Project: 25%
  • Final Exam: 50%