Date/Time
Date(s) - 19/09/2012
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Quantum Control using Nano-Earthquakes

Speaker: Dr. James Stotz

Institute: Queen’s University

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Quantum information processing is becoming increasingly important as the world searches for the next paradigms in computing and communication. Semiconductor nanostructures exhibit a wide variety of quantum mechanical phenomena, and quantum information can be encoded into a single photon of light or onto a single electron spin. One caveat of such systems is that once they are fabricated, the system itself becomes a static structure that cannot be changed. To make a dynamic structure, one can harness acoustic excitations in the form of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in order to manipulate and control quantum states in semiconductor nanostructures. The SAWs act as ‘nano-earthquakes’ that can strongly influence both the structural and electronic properties of a nanostructure and its quantum states. I will discuss how a unique system of moving and dynamic quantum dots are able to transport small ensembles of electron spin over long distances and manipulate them while retaining their microscopic confinement and distinguishability. I will also introduce the possibilities to use phononic crystals to provide new ways to control SAWs for applications in quantum systems.