Electron microscope image of the ETH Zurich experiment. Between the quantum dot (left) and the curved electrode (right) electronic standing waves arise, which interact with the electrons of the quantum dot. (Photo: Rössler C et al. Physical Review Letters 2015)
Resonators are an important tool in physics. The curved mirrors inside the resonators usually focus light waves that act, for instance, on atoms. Physicists at ETH Zurich have now managed to build a resonator for electrons and to direct the standing waves thus created onto an artificial atom. More than two thousand years ago the Greek inventor and philosopher Archimedes already came up with the idea of using a curved mirror to reflect light in such a way as to focus it into a point - legend has it that he used this technique to set fire to the ships of the Roman enemies. Today such curved or parabolic mirrors are used in a host of technical applications ranging from satellite dishes to laser resonators, where light waves are amplified between two mirrors. Modern quantum physics also makes use of resonators with curved mirrors. In order to study single atoms, for example, researchers use the light focused by the mirrors to enhance the interaction between the light waves and the atoms.
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