Quantum-state engineering, i.e. active manipulation over the coherent dynamics of suitable quantum-mechanical systems, has become a fascinating prospect of modern physics. Here we discuss the dynamics of two interacting electrons in a coupled quantum dot driven by an external electric field. The results show that the two quantum dots can be used to prepare a maximally entangled Bell state by changing the strength and duration of an oscillatory electric field. Different from the suggestion made by Loss et al （1998 Phys. Rev. A 57 120）, the present entanglement involves the spatial degree of freedom for the two electrons. We also find that the coherent tunnelling suppression discussed by Grossmann et al （1991 Phys. Rev. Lett. 67 516） persists in the two-particle case： i.e. two electrons initially localized in one dot can remain dynamically localized, although the strong Coulomb repulsion prevents them from behaving so. Surprisingly, the interaction enhances the degree of localization to a large extent compared with that in the non-interacting case. This phenomenon is referred to as the Coulomb-enhanced dynamical localization.
We have proposed a method to separate Rashba and Dresselhaus spin splittings in semiconductor quantum wells by using the intrinsic Hall effect. It is shown that the interference between Rashba and Dresselhaus terms can deflect the electrons in opposite transverse directions with a change of sign in the macroscopic Hall current, thus providing an alternative way to determine the different contributions to the spin-orbit coupling.
