A quantum point contact (QPC) is a narrow constriction between two wide electrically conducting regions, of a width comparable to the electronic wavelength (nano- to micrometer). Quantum point contacts were first reported in 1988 by a Dutch group (Van Wees et al.) and, independently, by a British group (Wharam et al.). They are based on earlier work by the British group which showed how split gates could be used to convert a two-dimensional electron gas into one-dimension, first in silicon (Dean and Pepper) and then in gallium arsenide (Thornton et al., Berggren et al.)
Read more about Quantum Point Contact: Fabrication, Properties, Applications
Famous quotes containing the words quantum, point and/or contact:
“The receipt to make a speaker, and an applauded one too, is short and easy.—Take of common sense quantum sufficit, add a little application to the rules and orders of the House, throw obvious thoughts in a new light, and make up the whole with a large quantity of purity, correctness, and elegancy of style.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.”
—C.S. (Clive Staples)
“ET phone home.”
—Melissa Mathison, U.S. screenwriter, and Steven Spielberg. ET, ET The Extra-Terrestrial, realizing he can contact his home planet (1982)