This is a PhD-level course offered in collaboration between several laboratories of MC2. The course has run in fall 2021 and the next round is scheduled for fall 2023.
Our laboratory is responsible to teach the measurement techniques used at the Quantum Device Physics division. See the short lab synopsys below:
Quantum information processing and the characterization of quantum materials require low-noise measurements with low electronic signal levels in the microvolt and picoampere regime. At the same time, thermal noise is detrimental for quantum coherence, so advanced cryogenic cooling technologies are also needed to explore quantum phenomena.
As part of this laboratory exercise, the students will learn the principles and operation of the dilution refrigerators that cool down nanodevices to the 10mK temperature regime and became the workhorse of solid state quantum computation both with superconducting quantum circuits and single electron spins in semiconductors.
Then, the students will cool down and characterize a semiconductor nanostructure and will analyze the data for the signatures of quantum coherent electronic transport as well as for intrinsic material parameters, such as the mean free path of electrons or spin-orbit coupling. With this experiment, the students will have a hands-on experience with low-noise electronic instrumentation and will learn the principles of lock-in signal detection, which allows for reliable measurements with low signal levels, even if the signal to noise ratio is less than one.