Spring semester 2014
Prof. Dr. Dominik Zumbühl, 

last updated Apr 29, 2014 

previous semesters courses:
(previously "Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics and Quantum Dots")
Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011

overview
Introduction to the physics of charges and spins in nanostructures probed by electronic transport measurements at low temperatures, 
aiming at spintronics, quantum information processing, and novel quantum states of matter. 
Quantum physics in 2D, 1D and 0D.
The course will mainly focus on experiments, but will inevitably discuss some rudimentary condensed matter theory.

lectures Tuesdays, 14:30-16:15, room 3.12
exercises Tuesdays, 16:30-18:15, room 2.04

syllabus (depending on the preferences of the participants)
2D electron gas, quantum Hall effect, conductance quantization, 0.7 structure
phase coherence, Aharonov Bohm effect, weak localization, universal conductance fluctuations
spin-orbit coupling, spin precession and relaxation, spin transistor, persistent spin helix, spintronics
0D: quantum dots, spectroscopy, sequential and cotunneling transport, charge sensing, Kondo effect
double dots, spin-blockade, nuclear spins, spin qubits, spin resonance, exchange gates
1D: Luttinger liquids, spin charge separation, charge fractionalization, Rashba wires, helical conductors, electron and nuclear spin helix, Majorana Fermions, topological insulators

mainly for masters (or PhD) students in nanoscience and physics. Physics III and condensed matter physics lecture is a prerequisite. 6th semester bachelor students are also allowed to take the class. 

credit points 2 credit points lecture and (optional) 2 credit points exercises. Lecture is two hours per week, final presentation with number grade 1-6. The exercises (pass/fail) will consist of 3-4 problem sets and reading of a series of scientific publications relevant to class, meeting one to two hours per week where papers discussed by the students in depth.

purpose of this lecture is to introduce the class to the physics of quantum transport in electronic nanostructures aiming at spintronics, quantum computation, and novel quantum states of matter. The course will mainly focus on experiments, but will inevitably discuss some condensed matter theory.

structure will be a combination of lectures on my part to introduce the basics and subsequent presentations done by students towards the end of the semester on topics that can be chosen by students from a selection. There will be 3-4 problem sets, and moderate amounts of reading assignments in weeks without problem sets as preparation for lectures. The class grade will be based on the presentation given by each student taking the class for credit (presentation toward the end of the semester during class). Sit-ins/students auditing the class (not for credit) are also welcome.

Lecture Schedule and Content, FS 2014 (tentative)

Exercise Schedule and Content, FS 2014 (tentative)

Organization of the exercises: As a preparation for the exercises, the students thoroughly read the one or two papers assigned before the exercise, see list below for a schedule of papers. The assigned papers are typically 3-4 pages long. It is expected that every student has at least two questions ready as a basis or starting point for a discussion. In class, the papers are discussed in detail. Focus is on depth (not breadth). In every exercise class, one student is randomly picked to be the discussion leader / mediator. To assist the discussion, the discussion leader prepares slides containing the graphs of the paper. The exercise is pass fail, based on individual preparedness. 3-4 problem sets will alternate with paper discussions.

Projects and Presentations, FS14

Presentations should be no longer than about 20 to 25 minutes, plus 5 to 10 minutes for questions. 
Goal of the presentation is to explain to your fellow classmates the topic you have chosen 
as clearly and as concisely as possible while keeping a critical attitude towards the reported research.
List of available topics (below) might be modified / adapted, but will vaguely consist of the topics listed below.

Topics with more than one article: 
choose one article for in-depth presentation, mention highlights of other paper(s). 

Literature

books
“Mesoscopic Electronics in Solid State Nanostructures”, Thomas Heinzel, Wiley-VCH (2003)
 “Electronic Transport in Mesoscopic Systems”, Supriyo Datta, Cambridge Universy Press (1995)
 “The Physics of Low-Dimensional Semicond.”, John H. Davies, Cambridge University Press (1998)

review articles
“Quantum Transport in Semiconductor Nanostructures”, C. W. J. Beenakker and H. van Houten, published in Solid State Physics, 44, 1-228 (1991) (out of print, available at arXive:cond-mat/0412664) pdf

“Electron Transport in Quantum Dots”, L. P. Kouwenhoven, C. M. Marcus, P. L. McEuen, S. Tarucha, R. M. Westervelt and N. Wingreen, NATO ASI conference proceedings, edited by L. L. Sohn, L. P. Kouwenhoven and G. Schön (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1997). pdf

“Coulomb Blockade Oscillations in Semiconductor Nanostructures”, H. van Houten, C. W. J. Beenakker and A. A. M. Staring, published in Single Charge Tunneling, edited by H. Grabert and M. H. Devoret,  NATO ASI series B294 (Plenum, New York, 1992), (out of print, available at arXive:cond-mat/0508454). pdf

“Few-Electron Quantum Dots”, L. P. Kouwenhoven, D. G. Austing and S. Tarucha, Rep. Prog. Phys. 64, 701 (2001). pdf

“Electron transport through double quantum dots”, W. G. van der Wiel, S. De Franceschi, J. M. Elzerman, T. Fujisawa, S. Tarucha, and L. P. Kouwenhoven, Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 1-22 (2003) pdf

“Recipes for Spin Based Quantum Computing”, V. Cerletti, W. A. Coish, O. Gywat and D. Loss, Nanotechnology 16, R27 (2005). pdf

“Spins in few-electron quantum dots”, R. Hanson, L. P. Kouwenhoven, J. R. Petta, S. Tarucha, and L. M. Vandersypen, Rev. Mod. Phys. 79, 1217-1265 (2007) pdf

“Coherent manipulation of single spins in semiconductors”, R. Hanson and D. Awschalom, Nature 453, 1043 (June 2008, Insight Review) pdf