There are several different ways of fabricating a quantum point contact. It can be realized in a break-junction by pulling apart a piece of conductor until it breaks. The breaking point forms the point contact. In a more controlled way, quantum point contacts are formed in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), e.g. in GaAs / AlGaAs heterostructures. By applying a voltage to suitably shaped gate electrodes, the electron gas can be locally depleted and many different types of conducting regions can be created in the plane of the 2DEG, among them quantum dots and quantum point contacts. Another means of creating a QPC is by positioning the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope close to the surface of a conductor.