The thesis gives the first experimental demonstration of a new quantum bit (“qubit”) that fuses two promising physical implementations for the storage and manipulation of quantum information – the electromagnetic modes of superconducting circuits, and the spins of electrons trapped in semiconductor quantum dots – and has the potential to inherit beneficial aspects of both. This new qubit consists of the spin of an individual superconducting quasiparticle trapped in a Josephson junction made from a semiconductor nanowire. Due to spin-orbit coupling in the nanowire, the supercurrent flowing through the nanowire depends on the quasiparticle spin state. This thesis shows how to harness this spin-dependent supercurrent to achieve both spin detection and coherent spin manipulation. This thesis also represents a significant advancement to our understanding and control of Andreev levels and thus of superconductivity. Andreev levels, microscopic fermionic modes that exist in all Josephson junctions, are the microscopic origin of the famous Josephson effect, and are also the parent states of Majorana modes in the nanowire junctions investigated in this thesis. The results in this thesis are therefore crucial for the development of Majorana-based topological information processing.

This multidisciplinary book provides up-to-date coverage of carrier and spin dynamics and energy transfer and structural interaction among nanostructures. Coverage also includes current device applications such as quantum dot lasers and detectors, as well as future applications to quantum information processing. The book will serve as a reference for anyone working with or planning to work with quantum dots.

This volume is a collection of papers from the third meeting of the international symposium on mesoscopic superconductivity and spintronics. Research on quantum information technology has advanced a great deal since the previous meeting. Mesoscopic physics, such as spins in nano-scale semiconductor structures, micro-fabricated superconducting junctions and extraordinary metal contacts have now been not only theoretically but also experimentally established as important solid-state elements of quantum information devices. The book also contains some papers on information theory from the viewpoint of quantum algorithms, indicating that further collaboration between physics and computer science promises to produce fruitful results in quantum information technology.

While many books are dedicated to individual aspects of nanofabrication, there is no single source that defines and explains the total vision of the field. Filling this gap, Nanofabrication Handbook presents a unique collection of new and the most important established approaches to nanofabrication. Contributors from leading research facilities and

Effects of many-body interactions and superconducting correlations have become central questions in the quantum transport community. While most previous works investigating current fluctuations in nanodevices have been restricted to the stationary regime, Seoane's thesis extends these studies to the time domain. It provides relevant information about the time onset of electronic correlations mediated by interactions and superconductivity. This knowledge is essential for the development of fast electronic devices, as well as novel applications requiring fast manipulations, such as quantum information processing. In addition, the thesis establishes contact with issues of broad current interest such as non-equilibrium quantum phase transitions.