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ECE 487 - Introduction to Quantum Electronics

Last offered Fall 2020

Official Description

Application of quantum mechanical concepts to electronics problems; detailed analysis of a calculable two-state laser system; incidental quantum ideas bearing on electronics. Course Information: 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: PHYS 485.

Related Faculty

Subject Area

  • Microelectronics and Photonics

Course Director

Description

In this course, quantum mechanical concepts are applied to practical problems in physics, electronics, chemistry, and electrical engineering. The goal of this course is to develop the quantum mechanical foundation for modern electronic devices (MEMS, lasers, transistors, LEDs, quantum size effects in FETs, optical communication, etc.).

Goals

Develop a basis for understanding quantum mechanics and its applications in modern electronics and information processing (lasers, field effect transistors, quantum communication, quantum computation, etc.)

Topics

  • time-independent Schrodinger equation
  • quantum mechanical tunneling
  • bound states and scattering
  • transmission electron microscopy
  • the energy spectrum of diatomic and aromatic molecules
  • the band structure of one-dimensional crystalline and disordered solids
  • perturbation theory and field quantization
  • two-state lasers
  • qubits
  • quantum entanglement
  • quantum computation and quantum algorithms

Detailed Description and Outline

Develop a basis for understanding the quantum mechanical aspects of modern electronics (lasers, quantized Hall effect, field effect transistors, optical tweezers, etc.)

Topics:

  • time-independent Schrodinger equation
  • quantum mechanical tunneling
  • bound states and scattering
  • transmission electron microscopy
  • the band structure of one-dimensional crystalline and disordered solids
  • perturbation theory and field quantization
  • two-state lasers
  • qubits
  • quantum entanglement
  • quantum computation and quantum algorithms

Texts

Class notes
Recommended: D. Miller, Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers, Cambridge, 2008.

ABET Category

Engineering Science: 3 credits

Course Goals

The goal of this course is introduce the quantum mechanical concepts needed to understand the operation of current nanoelectronics and nanophotonics, as well as next-generation quantum information processing technologies. This course combines the use of course textbooks with current literature to show how quantum principles are used not simply to understand traditional physics applications but to understand new physical effects and their potential applications in transformative new technologies.

Students will be encouraged to work together to solve homework problems, and they should be prepared to individually communicate their understanding of course material.

Instructional Objectives

By the completion of 14 lectures (halfway mark), the students should have been introduced to the following and be able to do:

1. Understand Wave-Particle Duality and the wavefunction of a quantum system (1,6)

2. Solve Schrödinger’s Equation in simple potentials (1,5,6)

3. Fully analyze the behavior of a quantum harmonic oscillator (1,6)

4. Understand the time-dependent Schrödinger Equation (1,6)

5. Solve the time evolution of quantum wavepackets in various potentials (1,5,6)

6. Compute expectation values and understand quantum operators (1,6)

7. Explain the Uncertainty Principle and its applications (3,7)

8. Understand the Hilbert space formalism of quantum mechanics (1,6)

9. Perform calculations using bra-ket notation (1,6)

10. Approximate solutions using first and second-order perturbation theory (1,6)

11. Understand degenerate perturbation theory and the tight binding model (1,6)

12. Understand time-dependent perturbation theory and Fermi’s Golden Rule (1,6)

13. Compute the refractive index of a medium (1,6)

14. Analyze the emergence of non-linear optical effects and their applications (1,6)

By the end of the course (semester) students should be able to:

15. Work with angular momentum operators and spherical harmonics (1)

16. Solve Schrödinger’s Equation for the hydrogen atom (1,5,6)

17. Understand spin and the structure of qubits (1,6)

18. Calculate the transmission coefficient in Resonant Tunneling (1,6)

19. Explain Transmission Electron Microscopy (3,7)

20. Understand LASERs (1,6)

21. Analyze the scattering of identical particles (1,6)

22. Understand the meaning of quantum entanglement and how it is detected (1,6)

23. Explain the gate model of quantum computation (3,7)

24. Identify universal sets of quantum gates (1,6)

25. Construct basic quantum algorithms and compare with classical algorithms (1,5,6)

26. Understand quantum teleportation and its use in processing quantum information (1,6)

27. Explain the basic principles of quantum cryptography (3,7)

TitleSectionCRNTypeHoursTimesDaysLocationInstructor
Intro Quantum Electr for EEsC29968ONL30930 - 1050 T R    Kejie Fang
Intro Quantum Electr for EEsON174011OD30930 - 1050 T R    Kejie Fang