Modern Physics
Course Code: SC-104
Prerequisite: SC-103 (Freshman Physics)
Course Year: 1st IT, CSE, ECE & EEE
Academic Year: 2015/16
Unit 7
Superconductivity
Introduction
Superconductors are the material having almost zero
resistivity and behave as diamagnetic below the
superconducting transiting temperature
Superconductivity is the flow of electric current without
resistance in certain metals, alloys, and ceramics at
temperatures near absolute zero, and in some cases at
temperatures hundreds of degrees above absolute zero = -
273ºK.
Discoverer of Superconductivity
Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911 by the Dutch
physicist, Heike K. Onnes.
General Properties of Superconductors
Electrical resistance: Virtually zero electrical resistance.
Effect of impurities: When impurities are added to
superconducting elements, the superconductivity is not loss
but the Tc is lowered.
Effects of pressures and stress: certain materials exhibits
superconductivity on increasing the pressure in
superconductors, the increase in stress results in increase of
Cont’d…
Isotope effect: The critical or transition temperature Tc value
of a superconductors is found to vary with its isotopic mass. i.e.
"the transition temperature is inversely proportional to the
square root of isotopic mass of single superconductors.”
Magnetic field effect: If Strong magnetic field applied to a
superconductors below its TC, the superconductors
undergoes a transition from superconducting state to normal
state.
Meissner effect
When Superconducting material cooled bellow its Tc it becomes
resistance-less & perfect diamagnetic.
When superconductor placed inside a magnetic field in Tc all
magnetic flux is expelled out of it.
The complete expulsion of all magnetic field by a superconducting
material is called “Meissner effect”.
Perfect diamagnetism arises from some special magnetic property
of Superconductor.
Cont’d…
Normal state: T > Tc
Superconducting state : T < Tc
The Meissner effect is a distinct characteristics
of a superconducting from a normal perfect
conductor. In addition, this effect is exhibited by
the superconducting materials only when the
applied field is less then the critical field Hc.
Important Factors to define a Superconducting State
The superconducting state is defined by three very
important factors:
Critical Temperature (Tc)
Critical Field (Hc)
Critical Current Density (Jc).
Each of these parameters is very dependent on the
other two properties present
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
The temperature at which a material electrical resistivity drops to
absolute zero is called the Critical Temperature or Transition
Temperature.
Below critical temperature, material is said to be in
superconducting and above this it is said to in normal state.
Below this temperature the superconductors also exhibits a variety
of several astonishing magnetic and electrical properties.
Metal Critical T(K)
Aluminum 1.2K
Tin 3.7K
Mercury 4.2K
Niobium 9.3K
Niobium-Tin 17.9K
Tl-Ba-Cu-oxide 125K
Electrical Resistivity Vs Temperature Plot for
Superconductors and Normal Metals
From the figure it can be seen
that the electrical resistivity of
normal metal decreases steadily
as the temperature is decreased
and reaches a low value at 0K
called Residual Resistivity.
• Critical magnetic field (Hc ) Above this value of an externally applied
magnetic field a superconductor becomes non-superconducting .This
minimum magnetic fields required to destroy the superconducting state
is called the critical magnetic field Hc
2
Hc = Ho[1-(T/Tc) ]
• Critical current density (Jc) The maximum value of electrical current per
unit of cross-sectional area that a superconductor can carry without
resistance.
TYPES OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
TYPE I TYPE II
Soft superconductors Exhibits perfect and Hard superconductors and complete
are those which can complete Meissner are those which Meissner effect.
tolerate impurities effect. cannot tolerate It is found that
without affecting the The current flows impurities, i.e., the current flows
superconducting through the surface only. impurity affects the throughout the
properties; also called superconducting material.
These materials have
soft superconductors. property; also called
limited technical These materials have
Only one critical field hard superconductors.
applications because of wider technology of
exists for these very low field strength Two critical fields very high field
superconductors. value Hc1(lower) & strength value.
Critical field value is very Hc2(upper) for these.
e.g :-Pb,Hg,Zn,etc. e.g. Nb3Ge, Nb3Si
low. Critical field value is
very high.
TYPES OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
HIGH Tc SUPERCONDUCTORS
LOW TC SUPERCONDUCTORS HIGH TC SUPERCONDUCTORS
Superconductors that require liquid Superconductors having their Tc
helium coolant are called low values above the temperature of
temperature superconductors. liquid nitrogen (77K) are called
Liquid helium temperature is 4.2K the high temperature
above absolute zero superconductors.
BCS Theory of Superconductivity
The properties of Type I superconductors were modeled
successfully by the efforts of John Bardeen, Leon Cooper,
and Robert Schrieffer in what is commonly called the BCS
theory.
A key conceptual element in this theory is the pairing of
electrons close to the Fermi level into Cooper pairs through
interaction with the crystal lattice.
Cont’d…
This pairing results form a slight attraction between the
electrons related to lattice vibrations; the coupling to the
lattice is called a phonon interaction.
Pairs of electrons can behave very differently from single
electrons which are fermions and must obey the Pauli
exclusion principle.
Cont’d…
The pairs of electrons act more like bosons which can
condense into the same energy level.
The electron pairs have a slightly lower energy and leave an
energy gap above them on the order of 0.001eV which
inhibits the kind of collision interactions which lead to
ordinary resistivity.
cont’d…
For temperatures such that the thermal energy is less
than the band gap, the material exhibits zero
resistivity.
Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer received the Nobel
Prize in 1972 for the development of the theory of
superconductivity.
Cooper Pairs
The transition of a metal from the normal to the
superconducting state has the nature of a condensation of
the electrons into a state which leaves a band gap above
them.
This kind of condensation is seen with super fluid helium, but
helium is made up of bosons -- multiple electrons can't collect
into a single state because of the Pauli exclusion principle.
Cont’d…
Froehlich was first to suggest that the electrons act as pairs
coupled by lattice vibrations in the material.
This coupling is viewed as an exchange of phonons, phonons
being the quanta of lattice vibration energy.
Cont’d…
Experimental corroboration of an interaction with the lattice was
provided by the isotope effect on the superconducting transition
temperature.
The boson-like behavior of such electron pairs was further
investigated by Cooper and they are called "Cooper pairs".
The condensation of Cooper pairs is the foundation of the BCS
theory of superconductivity.
JOSEPHSON DEVICES
Consists of thin layer of insulating material placed between two
superconducting materials.
Insulator acts as a barrier to the flow of electrons.
When voltage applied current flowing between super conductors by tunneling
effect.
Quantum tunneling occurs when a particle moves through a space in a manner
forbidden by classical physics, due to the potential barrier involved
Components of current
In relation to the BCS theory (Bardeen Cooper Schrieffer)
mentioned earlier, pairs of electrons move through this
barrier continuing the superconducting current. This is
known as the dc current.
Current component persists only till the external voltage
application. This is ac current.
Josephson junctions
A type of electronic circuit capable of switching at very high
speeds when operated at temperatures approaching absolute
zero.
Named for the British physicist who designed it, a Josephson
junction exploits the phenomenon of superconductivity.
Construction
A Josephson junction is made up of two superconductors, separated by a non-
superconducting layer so thin that electrons can cross through the insulating barrier.
The flow of current between the superconductors in the absence of an applied
voltage is called a Josephson current, the movement of electrons across the barrier
is known as Josephson tunneling.
Two or more junctions joined by superconducting paths form what is called a
Josephson interferometer.
Uses of Josephson devices
Magnetic Sensors Microwave amplifiers
Gradiometers Sensors for biomedical, scientific
Oscilloscopes and defense purposes
Decoders Digital circuit development for
Integrated circuits
Analogue to Digital
converters Microprocessors
Oscillators Random Access Memories (RAMs)
APPLICATION OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
The production of
sensitive magnetom
eters based
on SQUIDs.
Cont’d…
Powerful superconducting electromagnets used in:
Maglev trains
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machines,
Magnetic confinement fusion reactors (e.G. Tokomaks), and
The beam-steering and focusing magnets used in particle accelerators.
Cont’d…
Superconducting generators has the benefit of small size and low
energy consumption than the conventional generators.
Very fast and accurate computers can be constructed using
superconductors and the power consumption is also very low.
Superconductors can be used to transmit electrical power over
very long distances without any power or any voltage drop.
Cont’d…
Engineering: Medical:
Transmission of power Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Switching devices Diagnosis of brain tumor
Sensitive electrical instruments Magneto – hydrodynamic power
Memory (or) storage element in generation
computers.
Manufacture of electrical generators
and transformers