Quantum Information
Quantum technologies and their applications are closely investigated within the Quantum Information track.
These new technologies are expected to radically change not only communication systems, which already need to exchange immense amounts of data every day and are fast-growing, but also many other digital application scenarios.
Quantum Information is closely related to the Photonics track; here you can find more information about it.
How does the study plan work
A list of the courses available in the Quantum Information Track for the 2022-2023 academic year is reported below.
There are two mandatory courses: Photonic Technologies (that includes Fiber Optics and Photonic Devices) and Quantum Information and Computing.
The other courses can be freely chosen while keeping to some basic rules: at least 6 courses from the ICT subjects and 2 courses from the related subjects must be chosen.
Furthermore, a soft skill course must be selected, and students must pass the B2 English exam.
It is further advised to choose about 30 ECTS credits per semester to keep your workload balanced.
Our core subjects:
- Electromagnetism;
- Transmission & Signals;
- Networks
Our related subjects:
- Physics & Electronics;
- Computer science & Robotics;
- Math;
- Biomedical;
- Soft skills
Mandatory Courses
The Photonic Technologies course is mandatory.
It is composed of 2 parts: Fiber Optics and Photonic Devices.
Furthermore the Quantum Information and Computing course must also be taken.
Fiber Optics (mod. A of Photonic Technologies)
The course focuses on the physical layer of wired telecommunication systems, with special emphasis on fiber optics.
The student will also perform 5 laboratory experiments.
The main topics of the course are: principles and fundamental equations of electromagnetism, Poynting vector, polarization; transmission lines and characteristic impedance; metallic waveguides (modes, dispersion, losses); and finally optical fibers (ray model, modes, attenuation, modal and chromatic dispersion).
Photonic Devices (mod. B of Photonic Technologies)
The course will present the operational principle of the most relevant photonics devices (light modulators, optical amplifiers, photonic sensors etc.) and the technologies (materials, waveguides, fibers etc.) used to realize them. Some applications of the photonic devices in will be also reviewed.
Quantum Information and Computing
Course details will be available soon....
ICT Subjects
Select 6 courses from the following list
Biophotonics
This course is devoted to the interactions of light with living tissues and their technological applications to non-invasive biomedical imaging and treatments techniques.
The topics covered by this course include fundamentals of light and matter, light-tissue interactions (light scattering and absorption in tissues), principles of lasers and non-linear optics as preliminaries to later discuss applications such as optical microscopy, biomedical imaging, spectroscopic techniques, plasmonics and photonic biosensing.
Digital Signal Processing
The course exploits basic signal analysis knowledge that the student is assumed to have acquired from previous studies to explore advanced concepts in the field of digital signal processing.
The course will review Z-transform, linear time-invariant systems, FIR/IIR filters, to investigate the design and usage of digital filters, interpolation/decimation of digital signals, frequency analysis of digital signals. Practical application examples, useful in many areas of information engineering, will be provided.
Internet
The course aims at providing basic knowledge of modern telecommunication architectures, as well as fundamental mathematical tools for the modelling, design and analysis of telecommunications networks and services.
The course will also give you some practical experience with network protocols and devices, thanks to a series of lab experiences that will introduce you to the art of router and socket programming.
Ancillary to all this knowledge, the course will help you develop some basic management skills that shall belong to the baggage of each engineer.
Some of the topics that will be considered by the course are data traffic sources, multimedia streams and content, packet switched networks: basics of data networks, ISO/OSI and TCP/IP protocol stacks, congestion control and scheduling algorithms and the application layer
Machine Learning
Intelligent systems capable of automated reasoning are emerging as the most promising application of ICT.
The aim of this course is to provide fundamentals and basic principles of the machine learning problem as well as to introduce the most common techniques for regression and classification.
Both supervised and unsupervised learning will be covered, with a brief outlook into more advanced topics such as Support Vector Machines, neural networks and deep learning.
The course will be complemented by hands-on experience with Python programming.
Nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is an emerging field of study that deals with emission, propagation, manipulation, and detection of photons in structures of nanometers in size.
Within the course, nanostructures will be considered for light generation (quantum wells, nanocrystals, nanowires), light propagation (dielectric and plasmonic nanowaveguides) and light manipulation (photonic crystals, metamaterials, resonant gratings).
The course will also review practical methods to build, characterize, and simulate nanophotonic structures and devices.
Optical and Quantum Communications
The course consists of two parts.
The former analyzes design and performance of a transmission link over optical fibers; to this end, standard characterization from digital communications will be revisited, including fibers as channels, light impulse propagation and amplification, and shot noise analysis.
The latter discusses quantum theory applied to telecommunications: quantum operators and projectors, spectral decomposition, quantum decision theory, and the design of a quantum communication system.
Optical Networks
The course discusses the physical layer of optical communication systems. Fiber optics will be reviewed for coupled mode theory and nonlinear propagation.
Then, instruments such as the optical time domain reflectometer and the optical spectrum analyzer will be described. Passive (couplers, isolators, filters) and active (amplifiers, modulators, diode lasers, photodiodes) devices and transmission equipments will be characterized. Students will also have the opportunity to perform 8 laboratory experiments.
Quantum Criptography and Security
Course details will be available soon
Satellite Communication Systems
Course details will be available soon
Related Subjects
Select 2 courses from the following list
Optoelectronics for Green Technologies
The course reviews properties of semiconductor materials (silicon and compounds), and mechanisms for light absorption and generation in them, as well as spontaneous or stimulated light emission.
Optoelectronic devices will also be presented, such as the LED (light emitting diode), lasers, photodetectors. Also, solar cells will be discussed (homojunction and heterojunction) and HEMT (high electron mobility transistors) and their applications.
Molecular Photonics
The course discusses optical properties of matter at molecular scale.
Spectroscopy and radioscopy are introduced to study spectral and reflectance of materials, hyperspectral optical configurations and sensors.
The course also covers surface plasmon, Kretschman configuration, nanostructured plasmonic sensors, lithography, metamaterials for lenses. Selected applications are presented to geology and agriculture (e.g. remote water detection), food industry, gas sensing, and medical diagnostics.
Quantum Methods for ICT
Course details will be available soon
Quantum Optics and Laser
Light is exploited in telecommunications, photovoltaic cells, or laser processes in medicine and industry.
The course studies thermal radiation, including that of the sun or conventional light sources, and how optical beams can be transformed for practical applications.
The course presents a classification of light types, the radiation-matter interaction, and how the laser can be realized.
It also approaches quantum optics to explain irradiative phenomena, outlining the immense potential of quantum technologies.
Quantum Technologies
Course details will be available soon
Soft Skills
Select 1 course from the following list.
Public Speaking Lab
The lab aims to help students improve their oral communication through the study and practice of the elements contributing to successful communication.
The focus is on raising the students' awareness on the importance of verbal and non verbal language in interactions to make communication more effective.
The students will learn the meanings of body language and paralanguage (voice intonation, volume, etc), how they are used in different types of interactions (one-to-one, one-to-many, computer-mediated, etc.), and will have to apply them in a number of assigned tasks.
The lab requires the students' active participation in all class activities, aimed at applying the communication strategies learned.
Project Management
This course will provide the foundations of the project management. Traditional (such as the Project Management Institute approach) as well as more advanced techniques - such as the Agile Methodology - will be reviewed. Special focus will be put on the methodologies more suited for the ICT environment.
Public values in media and ICT
More details will be available soon.
Elective credits
Select one course (6 ECTS) among all the courses of this Master’s (free choice). In addition, you have to select two courses (up to 15 ECTS) from this Master’s or any other one of the University of Padua, submitted to the condition of being relevant for the ICT scientific area.
Internship/Project
These are mandatory activities
English language B2
Students must certify that they have a proficiency level "English B2" according to the CEFR scheme.
To this end, students can:
- Submit a certificate issued by a recognized external certification agency;
- Take an internal test at the University of Padova Language Centre (CLA) to verify that they can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
Final project
Students are asked to carry out a substantial individual project in their final year.
The project can be carried out either at the University of Padova (30 ECTS combining a 21 ECTS Final Project and a 9 ECTS Report), or in an external institution, such as an Industry or a Research Center, either national or international (30 ECTS combining a 21 ECTS Final Project and a 9 ECTS Internship). It is also possible to do the internship in an external institution, and the final project at the University, though we suggest to carry out the whole work in a single place.
Find out more about the other curricula
Quantum Engineering
for Healthcare