The longstanding progress of conventional semiconductor technology is expected to come to a halt in the future. As the size of transistors approach the nanometer scale, severe problems related to miniaturization and energy dissipation will hinder further improvement of conventional devices.
This anticipation is motivating the development of alternative devices that take advantage of the quantum nature at the atomic scale. A notable example is the quantum computer, where each bit is formed by a physical system displaying quantum behavior. This can be realized by a few atoms, photons, or a very large number of atoms - such as e.g. the macroscopic quantum state of a superconducting material. In all cases the rules of quantum mechanics dictate the way information is processed.
Our research addresses several theoretical questions related to the design and optimization of quantum computer and photonic devices based on semiconductor, superconductor, magnetic, and ferroelectric materials.
