Résumé
Optically active spins in solids are strong candidates for scalable devices towards quantum networks. Semiconductor quantum dots set the state-of-the-art as single-photon sources with high level tuneability, brightness, and indistinguishability. In parallel, their inherently mesoscopic nature leads to a unique realisation of a tripartite interface between light, an electron spin and a nuclear spin ensemble. Controlling these interactions create opportunities to realize a controllable central spin system. I will present a journey from treating the nuclei as nuisance to observing their collective states and eventually to their function as a quantum register, all tailored via an electron driven by light.