The geometry of an electron determined for the first time

[ack]

Physicists at the University of Basel are able to show for the first time how a single electron looks in an artificial atom. A newly developed method enables them to show the probability of an electron being present in a space. This allows improved control of electron spins, which could serve as the smallest information unit in a future quantum computer. The experiments were published in Physical Review Letters and the related theory in Physical Review B.


The spin of an electron is a promising candidate for use as the smallest information unit (qubit) of a quantum computer. Controlling and switching this spin or coupling it with other spins is a challenge on which numerous research groups worldwide are working. The stability of a single spin and the entanglement of various spins depends, among other things, on the geometry of the electrons – which previously had been impossible to determine experimentally.

https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Event...n-electron-determined-for-the-first-time.html

The technique involves the use of quantum dots, tiny semiconducting crystals on nanometre scales. They are also referred to as artificial atoms because they can basically trap electrons and confine their movement in three dimensions, holding them in place with electric fields. These trapped electrons behave like electrons bound to an atom, and remain in specific locations.