In this video, Menno will guide us through quantum dots, how they behave and their properties. Quantum dots are a useful technology that is currently used for realizing quantum computation.

• A dielectric is placed in between the semiconductor and the metal to electrically isolate the two from each other. By applying electric voltages on the metal, the gate, we can tune the potential landscape underneath, to become an island what we call a quantum dot.
• Due to the strong quantum confinement, a quantum dot has discrete energy levels and as a result, a countable number of electrons.
• Quantum dots are operated in systems in dilution refrigerators that have a typical base temperature of about 10 milliKelvin.
• Quantum dots can be demonstrated to be artificial atoms. In silicon, the isolation, which defines the ideal qubit, is not determined by the orbital energy, but by the valley energy.
• A single-electron-transistor is a good sensor for nearby electric charge and is very relevant for quantum computation with quantum dots.