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The Quantum Dot: A Journey into the Future of Microelectronics
Since first developed in the early sixties, silicon chip technology has made vast leaps forward. From a rudimentary circuit with a mere handful of transistors, the chip has evolved into a technological miracle, packing millions of bits of information on a surface no larger than a human thumbnail. And most experts predict that in the near future, we will see chips with over a billion bits. At the same time, this revolution in microelectronics has sparked a dramatic change in the way we live. An integral part of the computer industry, the microchip is found in everything from lasers, fax machines, and satellites to greeting cards and children's toys. And yet few people have any idea how chips work, or how so much information can be captured in such a miniscule space.
Now, in The Quantum Dot , physicist Richard Turton provides a clear, informative look at the science that lies behind the modern revolution in microelectronics and offers an intriguing glimpse of the possible future of this rapidly evolving field. Turton illuminates the development of the microchip, in a discussion that ranges from a primer on atoms and electrons, to the properties of semiconductors (most notably, silicon), to the structure of the transistor. We learn how researchers have managed to pack the tiny silicon chip with more and more bits, and we get a state-of-the-art look at the microelectronic industry today, from the newest chip materials (such as gallium arsenide, a much faster material than silicon, used in the recently released Cray 3 supercomputer) to the exotic world of high-temperature superconductors. Perhaps most interesting, Turton offers a provocative glimpse of the future of microelectronics. Here readers enter the strange realm where quantum theory prevails
and where physical events contradict our intuitive perceptions. Turton shows how researchers are leaving the transistor far behind as they struggle to exploit quantum effects to create incredibly small and fast devices, such as "designer atoms" and the quantum dot. He concludes that the range of future possibilities are immense, including devices in which electrons behave not as particles but as waves, and computers in which there are no electrical signals, only beams of light.
Here then is an amazing scientific--and economic--success story, told with clarity and expertise. It will fascinate anyone curious about where modern technology is headed and what the world might look like when it gets there.
Now, in The Quantum Dot , physicist Richard Turton provides a clear, informative look at the science that lies behind the modern revolution in microelectronics and offers an intriguing glimpse of the possible future of this rapidly evolving field. Turton illuminates the development of the microchip, in a discussion that ranges from a primer on atoms and electrons, to the properties of semiconductors (most notably, silicon), to the structure of the transistor. We learn how researchers have managed to pack the tiny silicon chip with more and more bits, and we get a state-of-the-art look at the microelectronic industry today, from the newest chip materials (such as gallium arsenide, a much faster material than silicon, used in the recently released Cray 3 supercomputer) to the exotic world of high-temperature superconductors. Perhaps most interesting, Turton offers a provocative glimpse of the future of microelectronics. Here readers enter the strange realm where quantum theory prevails
and where physical events contradict our intuitive perceptions. Turton shows how researchers are leaving the transistor far behind as they struggle to exploit quantum effects to create incredibly small and fast devices, such as "designer atoms" and the quantum dot. He concludes that the range of future possibilities are immense, including devices in which electrons behave not as particles but as waves, and computers in which there are no electrical signals, only beams of light.
Here then is an amazing scientific--and economic--success story, told with clarity and expertise. It will fascinate anyone curious about where modern technology is headed and what the world might look like when it gets there.
- GenresScience
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 4, 2017
"In covalent or ionic materials all of the valence electrons are used to produce filled electron shells, so none is free to move. A similar result is obtained when the solid is composed of molecules, since all the electrons are required to form the bonds within the molecule. Consequently, we can conclude that the electrical properties of a material are strongly dependent on the type of bonding that exists in the crystal..." (19)
"It is all very well to say that an electron behaves like a wave, but an electron has mass and an electric charge. Does this mean that the mass and charge of an electron are spread out over the extent of the wave? This would be crazy. It would mean that if we isolated just part of the wave, we would obtain a fractional part of an electronic charge. How then do we interpret an electron wave? The answer is that the wave itself does not have any substance. It is a probability wave. When we talk about an electron wave, the amplitude of the wave at a particular point tells us the probability of finding the electron at that point. Thus, when an electron encounters the two slits we can picture part of the probability wave passing through one slit and part through the other. The two halve of the probability wave then recombine to produce regions on the screen where there is a high probability of finding the electron, and other regions where the probability is very low." (104)
"The electron wave does not terminate abruptly at the edge of the quantum well, but actually leaks out of the well slightly. This is a most surprising result. We should remind ourselves that the existence of the quantum well is due to the lower energy electron states available in the gallium arsenide layer. There are no states of similar energy available in the algas layer since this corresponds to the forbidden energy gap, and yet if the electron wave exists in this region there must be some probability for the electron actually being in this forbidden zone! ... [T]he electron can borrow the energy that it needs in order to move up to the lowest conduction state in the algas layer. The energy loan last for only a million billionth of a second, but this may be just long enough for an electron to find its way into a neighboring quantum well. The energy loan is repaid, but now the electron is in a different well from the one it started out in. Since classically such a process could not take place, it appears as though the electron has tunnelled through the algas layer." (121-2)
"In a metal the electrons move as individual entities with little care or concern for any of the other electrons. As a result of collisions with impurities or vibrating atoms they are deflected into different states, producing the effect we call resistance. However, when the electrons act as a team the only possible cause of resistance is for all the electron pairs to be simultaneously scattered into a different state, an event which is so implausible that all attempts to measure any resistance in a superconductor have failed." (159)
"It is all very well to say that an electron behaves like a wave, but an electron has mass and an electric charge. Does this mean that the mass and charge of an electron are spread out over the extent of the wave? This would be crazy. It would mean that if we isolated just part of the wave, we would obtain a fractional part of an electronic charge. How then do we interpret an electron wave? The answer is that the wave itself does not have any substance. It is a probability wave. When we talk about an electron wave, the amplitude of the wave at a particular point tells us the probability of finding the electron at that point. Thus, when an electron encounters the two slits we can picture part of the probability wave passing through one slit and part through the other. The two halve of the probability wave then recombine to produce regions on the screen where there is a high probability of finding the electron, and other regions where the probability is very low." (104)
"The electron wave does not terminate abruptly at the edge of the quantum well, but actually leaks out of the well slightly. This is a most surprising result. We should remind ourselves that the existence of the quantum well is due to the lower energy electron states available in the gallium arsenide layer. There are no states of similar energy available in the algas layer since this corresponds to the forbidden energy gap, and yet if the electron wave exists in this region there must be some probability for the electron actually being in this forbidden zone! ... [T]he electron can borrow the energy that it needs in order to move up to the lowest conduction state in the algas layer. The energy loan last for only a million billionth of a second, but this may be just long enough for an electron to find its way into a neighboring quantum well. The energy loan is repaid, but now the electron is in a different well from the one it started out in. Since classically such a process could not take place, it appears as though the electron has tunnelled through the algas layer." (121-2)
"In a metal the electrons move as individual entities with little care or concern for any of the other electrons. As a result of collisions with impurities or vibrating atoms they are deflected into different states, producing the effect we call resistance. However, when the electrons act as a team the only possible cause of resistance is for all the electron pairs to be simultaneously scattered into a different state, an event which is so implausible that all attempts to measure any resistance in a superconductor have failed." (159)
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August 20, 2017http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical...
Nathalie today presenting was talking about quantum dot as a biomarker with light shining and stuff but kind of toxic.
The analogy is a bit.... In the interest of my funsize proj probably it's better to bring audience to level of science in the Feynmanisc fashion like Giov said.
Also I started in the interest of learning Quantum dot but it's general solid state info is of interest of my current proj as well. good.
Can't do it.... apparently the not bringing audiences to level of science is a big problem for me.... the explanation is way too blah. I need to find a more physics major friendly book ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
Nathalie today presenting was talking about quantum dot as a biomarker with light shining and stuff but kind of toxic.
The analogy is a bit.... In the interest of my funsize proj probably it's better to bring audience to level of science in the Feynmanisc fashion like Giov said.
Also I started in the interest of learning Quantum dot but it's general solid state info is of interest of my current proj as well. good.
Can't do it.... apparently the not bringing audiences to level of science is a big problem for me.... the explanation is way too blah. I need to find a more physics major friendly book ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
November 28, 2013
I'm not entirely sure why I read this type of book, but it is interesting, and does cover ground we've mucked about with experimentally, ie quantum tunneling.
This book was light enough that I finished it quickly though, and I'll be keeping it for when we start looking at r-pi/arduino etc.
This book was light enough that I finished it quickly though, and I'll be keeping it for when we start looking at r-pi/arduino etc.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews