Module V (Superconductivity & Photonics)

Superconducting phenomena, Meissner effect and perfect diamagnetism, Types of

superconductors- Type I and Type II, BCS Theory (Qualitative), High temperature
superconductors-Applications of super conductivity

Introduction to photonics-Photonic devices-Light Emitting Diode, Photo detectors -

Junction and PIN photodiodes, Solar cells-I-V Characteristics, Optic fibre-Principle
of propagation of light, Types of fibres-Step index and Graded index fibres,
Numerical aperture –Derivation, Fibre optic communication system (block
diagram), Industrial, Medical and Technological applications of optical fibre, Fibre
optic sensors-Intensity Modulated and Phase modulated sensors.

Superconductivity
Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes;
He found that the electrical resistivity of mercury disappears suddenly when it is cooled
below 4.2 K.
The phenomenon of complete disappearance of electrical resistance in certain materials when
they are cooled below a characteristic temperature, called the transition temperature, Tc is
called superconductivity.
The superconducting transition is reversible so that a superconductor, if heated, will change
to a normal substance at its transition temperature. The substance below and above transition
temperature was shown to be in entirely different physical states with widely different
properties.

(a) Plot of the resistance of Mercury vs. temperature, showing sudden decrease of the critical
temperature, at 4.2 K. (b) Combined resistance vs temperature graphs of a non
superconducting material and a superconducting material.

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Magnetic properties of superconductors

Consider a superconductor at a temperature (T) below its transition temperature, Tc. When a
magnetic field (H) is turned on, the critical temperature (Tc) is lowered compared to the value
when there is no field. As the magnetic field increases, the critical temperature decreases, as
illustrated in figure.

If the magnetic field is greater than Hc, called the critical magnetic field, superconductivity
does not exist at any temperature. In a sense, the above diagram is a phase diagram where
lower left region represents the superconducting state and the upper right region its normal
state. If Hc(0) is the critical field at 0 K , then Hc at T K is given by

, where Tc(0) is the critical temperature at H=0.

Meissner Effect

Change in magnetic behavior is a characteristic property of superconducting transition. In

1993, Meissner and Ochsenfield observed that a superconductor expels magnetic flux
completely if H<Hc, a property of superconductors which has come to known as Meissner
effect.

In other words, Meissner effect is the expulsion of magnetic field from a superconductor
when it is cooled below the critical temperature, Tc.

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 In this figure, the lines represents magnetic field lines. Here, above the transition
temperature, magnetic flux is able to penetrate inside the material. But if you cool the
material below Tc it will completely expel the magnetic flux and the magnetic field inside the
superconductor becomes zero. This is an example of perfect diamagnetism.
Superconductors are perfect diamagnets. Proof?
For a perfect diamagnet, the magnetic susceptibility, χ = M/H = –1,
Where M is the magnetization and H is the magnetic field strength (external applied magnetic
field). The equation for magnetic filed inside a substance, B=o(H+M), where o is the
permeability of free space.

In the superconducting state, B = 0

Hence, o(H+M) = 0, or H = –M

Or M/H = χ = –1

This means, the superconductor is getting magnetized in a direction opposite to the applied
field and its susceptibility is –1. Thus, the substance in the superconducting state is a perfect
diamagnet.

The above behavior of the superconductor will be present only up to a certain strength for the
applied magnetic field. After a critical magnetic field Hc, the material will not show
Miessner effect.

Type-I and Type-II superconductors

Depending on the magnetization, superconductors are classified into type-I and type-II
superconductors.

Type I superconductors

Only certain superconductors, called type -I superconductors or soft superconductors, exhibit

complete Meissner effect. Some of the examples are Al, Cd, Sn, and Zn.

Type I superconductors lose its superconducting property above the critical magnetic field
HC. This means the zero resistance to electrical currents seized or stopped at HC.
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 Figure : H vs. M graph of type-I superconductors

Type-II Superconductors

Type-II or hard superconductors have magnetization curve similar to that given in figure
below. Type-II superconductors exhibit two critical magnetic fields, HC1 and HC2. After HC1
magnetic flux starts to penetrate inside the material but still upto HC2 it will show zero
resistance to electrical currents.

Figure : H vs. M graph of type-II superconductors

For applied fields greater than HC2, complete penetration of the magnetic field throughout the
sample will be there and the resistivity returns to the normal value. For certain type-II

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superconductors, the critical magnetic field HC2 may be several hundred times larger than the
typical values of critical fields for type-I superconductors.

Type-I superconductors Type-II superconductors

 The material becomes normal
conductor, if we increase the
magnetic field beyond Hc
 Below Tc, they are perfect
diamagnetic and exhibit
complete Meissner effect
 They have only one critical field
(Hc). At the critical field the
magnetization drops to zero.
 Also known as soft
superconductors
 Eg. Aluminium, lead, indium etc.
 They have two critical fields, Hc1 and Hc2
 The material is perfect diamagnet below
Hc1
 At Hc1 the magnetic field lines begin
penetrating the material.
 Mixed state is present in these materials
 The material becomes a normal conductor,
if we increase the magnetic field beyond
Hc2
 They are known as hard superconductors
 Eg. Nb-Sn, Nb-Ti, Va-Ga etc are examples

BCS Theory

Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory is the first microscopic theory of superconductivity. It

successfully explained the effects like zero resistance, Meissner effect etc. According to BCS
theory, at low temperatures the conduction electrons in a superconductor are coupled in pairs.

Two principal features of BCS theory are

i. Cooper pairs, electrons pairs are formed and propagate throughout the lattice

ii. Cooper pairs propagate without resistance

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At low temprtaure, the electron coupling in a supercondcutor comes in the following way:

At extreme low temperature if an electron reach near to a +ve ion lattice the lattice may
distort due to opposite charge attraction. This distortion makes a more positive environment
around the negative electron. If a second electron approach near to the first electron, the
second electron feels a positive charge near the first electron. So both these electrons will
travel like a pair. And this pair is known as cooper pair. And cooper pairs are the reason
behind the superconductivity.

High temperature superconductors

The low temperature superconductors usually have transition temperatures below 30 K and
must be cooled using liquid helium (4 K) in order to achieve superconductivity. High
temperature superconductors have been observed with transition temperatures as high as
134 K and can be cooled to superconductivity using liquid nitrogen (77 K) which is much
cheaper and easily accessible as compared to liquid helium.

• 1986, George Bednorz and Karl Müller at IBM, Zurich confirmed superconductivity
in Perovskite structured lanthanum based cuprate oxide material Tc= 35 K).

• 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of “high temperature”

superconductivity in ceramic materials.

• Examples of High temperature superconductors.

• YBa2Cu3O7 (92 K), Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O6 (110 K), Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 (125 K) and

HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8 (134 K).

• The chemical substitution in perovskite cuprates push the transition temperatures

well beyond 35 Kelvin. The reason of superconductivity in high temperature
superconductors cannot be explained using BCS theory. Several models emerged for
explaining high temperature superconductivity but none of them fully explained the
phenomenon.

Applications of Superconductors

 Power transmission
 Transformers and electrical machines
 Diagnostic equipments: Eg:MRI
 Electronic switches
 Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID)
 ……..

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Photonics

Photonics is the branch of science deals with the production, control and detection of
photons. It is a technology combines optics and electronics. In photonics, photons have
more or less the same role as electrons in electronics.

Solid state lighting (SSL) is a type of lighting that uses mainly light emitting diodes (LEDs).
This type of lighting has higher efficiency, reliability and environmental friendly technology
compared to the conventional lighting.

Light emitting diode (LED)

LED is a heavily doped pn junction of suitable materials that emits light when it is forward
biased. In the forward biased state, electrons move from n region to p region and holes move
from p region to n region. Electron hole combination takes place on either side of the pn
junction. The loss of energy in this recombination appears as light. The intensity of the
emitted light increases with increase of forward current, reaches a maximum value and then
decreases. The color or wavelength of the light emitted depends on the band gap energy.

, where h is the Planck’s constant, c is the velocity of light and Eg is the band gap
energy.

Different materials are used to get red, green, blue, yellow, orange etc light. Eg. Gallium
Nitrate (GaN) is used to get blue light (2014 Nobel price). A new advancement in LED
technology is the discovery of quantum dot LEDs.

Some of the advantages of LED are

 It helps in saving energy

 Reduction in costs
 Very low voltage and current are enough to drive LED
 High life span
 Miniature in size and light weight

Some of the applications of LEDs are

 Using in optical fibre communications

 It is used in digital displays
 LED is used as bulb in homes and industries
 It is used in traffic signals

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Photo detector

A Photo detector is a device used to convert light signals that hit the junction into a voltage or
current. Photo detectors are required at the receiving end of an optical communication link.

Examples of photo detectors are photodiodes and phototransistors. Other optical devices
similar to photo detectors are solar cells which also absorb light and convert it into electrical
energy.

Photo diode

A photodiode is a type of light detector, used to convert the light into current or voltage based
on the mode of operation of the device.

Symbol of photodiode

The response time of these diodes decreases as their surface area increases. Photodiodes are
similar to regular semiconductor diodes, but they may be transparent enough to let light reach
the delicate part of the device.

There are different types of photodiodes available and they all work on the same basic
principle. Photodiodes are classified based on its construction and functions as follows

1. PN Photodiode

2. Schottky Photodiode

3. PIN Photodiode

4. Avalanche Photodiode

Junction Photodiode

It is reverse biased pn junction, which is embedded in clear plastic medium. When this
reverse biased pn junction is exposed to light, the current varies linearly with flux of light.
The complete unit is very small of the order of 1/10th of an inch.

Construction

Junction photodiode is a pn junction diode, which is formed by a p type semiconductor

material such as Boron and n type semiconductor material such as Phosphorous.

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It is formed by the diffusion of lightly doped p region into the heavily doped n regions as
shown in the figure. The space between p region and n region is called depletion region. Here
some portion of the front area is called active area which is coated with antireflective (AR)
coating and the remaining portion is non active area which is coated with thick layer of SiO2.
By adjusting the thickness of the non active area, we can control the response and speed of a
photodiode to convert the light into current.

Working
Junction photodiode is connected in a circuit in reverse biased condition as shown in the
figure below.

If the reverse biased voltage is very low, a constant current flows through the diode. This
current is called reverse saturation current, which flows due to thermally generated minority
carriers namely electrons in the p type and holes in the n type that are attracted towards the
junction. The motion of minority carriers form a current known as leakage current. The
leakage current is also known as dark current.

When a photon is absorbed from the incident light by the p or n region, an electron is released
from the valence band it goes to the conduction band. This creates a hole in the valence band.
Thus the incident light causes the creation of a large number of electron hole pairs. These
electron hole pairs are called photo carriers and produce a current known as photocurrent in

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the external circuit in addition to dark current. The sensitivity of the device is increased by
minimizing the dark current.

Applications

Used in smoke detectors, CD players, and television and remote controls.

Used for the measurement of intensity of light

Used in medical field: Eg. For sample analysis, monitoring blood gas monitors, etc

Used in optical communication and light regulation

PIN Photodiode

The PIN diode is a one type of photo detector, used to convert optical signal into an electrical
signal. The PIN diode comprises of three regions, namely P-region, I-region and N-region.
The p and n region are heavily doped and the width of the intrinsic region is much larger (10-
200 microns) than the space depletion region of a normal pn junction.

When reverse biased voltage is applied across the terminal of a PIN photodiode the space
charge region extends throughout the intrinsic region. When light is incident on the diode,
electrons are excited from the valence band to conduction band. This produces a large
number of electron hole pairs. Because of its large width, the intrinsic layer absorbs a very
large number of incoming photons compared to the p and n regions. This increase the photo
current, improves the efficiency, speed, and sensitivity compared to a pn junction photodiode.

Solar cell

Solar cells are devices making use of photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into
electrical energy. It generates electric potential when it is irradiated by light. A solar cell can
be considered as a large area photodiode which is made to work in the photovoltaic mode and
in zero bias. So there is no flow of current out of the diode and hence a voltage develops
inside the device. That means sunlight is trapped inside the device to produce electric effect

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in the form of voltage. This is known as photovoltaic effect and it is the basis for solar cells.
The total voltage can be increased by connecting a number of solar cells in series. A solar
panel or a solar module is an array of a large number of solar cells connected together.
Silicon based solar cells are normally in use.

Construction of a solar cell

It consist of a heavily doped p-n junction. The top layer (n regin) is made very thin to allow
solar radiation to reach the p-n junction.

The pn junction is very narrow because the doping level is extremely high. Solar cells have
large surface area to receive a large amount of light. The anode connection is made from
bottom and the cathode from the top layer. An antireflection coating is made on the top layer
to prevent light losses due to reflection.

I-V Characteristics of a solar cell

Working of a solar cell

When light strikes the top of the semiconductor (n region) electrons are knocked out of the
material. These electrons travel from n-type to p-type semiconductor through the external
load thereby completing the whole electric circuit. Hence we obtain electric current.

I-V measurements are well known procedure to characterize solar cells. Most of the solar cell
parameters can be obtained from I-V measurements.

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Consider a solar cell connected with an ammeter, voltmeter and a load resistance and exposed
to sunlight. Figure below shows the I-V curve and power output of solar cell. If there is no
load connected with the solar cell, an open circuit voltage Voc is produced without a current.
If the terminals of the solar panels are shorted together, the short circuit current Isc flows
without an output voltage. In both the cases, no power is delivered by the solar cell.

When a load is connected, a voltage is developed, a current flows in the circuit and there is an
output power. Output power is maximum for a specific load resistance. Let Vmax and Imax be
the voltage and current corresponding to maximum power point. Maximum power point is
the condition under which solar cell generates its maximum power, Pmax. It is important to
operate solar cells at their maximum power conditions. So during the design of the circuit for
solar cells the load resistance is specifically chosen to maximize the output power.

Efficiency of a solar cell is the ratio of total power converted by the solar cell to the total
power available for energy conversion

Although some experimental solar cells have achieved efficiencies of close to 50%, most
commercial cells are below 30%.

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 Optical Fibre
Total internal reflection

Total internal reflection is a phenomenon which occurs when the light rays travel from a
more optically denser medium to a less optically denser medium. When the angle of
incidence is greater than the critical angle (), the incident ray is reflected back to the
medium. We call this phenomenon total internal reflection.

This phenomenon is made use of in the transmission of light signals through optical fibre
cables. In fact, light signals are transmitted through fibers made of glass or plastic by multiple
total internal reflections.

Optical Fibre

An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by

glass (silica) or clear plastic. Optical fibers typically
include a core of refractive index n1 surrounded by a
transparent cladding of refractive index n2 (where n2<n1).
The most widely used configurations of the fibre are the
step index fibre and graded or variable index fibre. In
the step index fibre, the core is homogeneous with a
constant refractive index n1 and the cladding also has a
constant refractive index n2. In a graded index fibre , the
core refractive index varies radially, decreasing from the
axis outward.

Sl.No Step index Graded index

1 Refractive index is uniform for the
core and suddenly changes at the core
cladding boundary
2 It can be single mode or multimode
3 It can be manufactured easily
4 Attenuation is higher
5 Reflection losses are present
Refractive index of core is not uniform. It is
maximum along the axis of core and
decreases towards core cladding boundary
It is only multimode
Manufacturing is not easy
Attenuation is lower
Reflection losses are absent

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6

Table: Comparison of Step index fibre and Graded index fibre

Light propagation in step index fibre

In step index fibre, most of the light travels inside the core and is contained there by total
internal reflection. Fig. above illustrates the transmission of light in a step index fibre.

At the air core-interface point A, refraction takes place and the rays continue at a smaller
angle to the axis. They reach the core-cladding interface at points B1, B2 and B3. For the ray
at B1 , the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle c for the interface. Hence it leaves
the fibre through the cladding. For the ray that reaches B2, the angle of incidence is equal to
the critical angle c. The angle c is called critical propagation angle. However the ray that
reaches B3 is totally reflected into the core, as the angle of incidence is greater than the
critical angle. That is the rays with propagation angles less than c will be confined to the
core of the fibre.

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Numerical Aperture

Consider a light ray that enters the fibre at an angle θc with respect to the fibre axis and
strikes the core-cladding interface at an angle αc. By Snell’s law

n1sinαc=n2sin90; n1sinαc=n2;

or, sinαc=n2/n1 ---------- (1)

Since, sinαc = cos(90-αc) = cosθc, from eqn. 1, we get

cosθc =n2/n1 ---------------- (2)

θ θ

If the launching is from air and n0 is the refractive index of air, then according to Snell’s law

n0sinθa = n1sinθc =

The term n0sinθa is defined as the numerical aperture (N.A) of the fibre. Since n0≈1

N.A= sinθa= .

The numerical aperture of a fiber is defined as the sine of the largest angle an incident ray can
have for total internal reflection in the core. Rays launched outside the angle specified by a fiber's
NA will excite radiation modes of the fiber. A higher core index, with respect to the cladding,
means larger NA. In other words numerical aperture is the measure of the light gathering capacity
of a fibre.

It is a dimensionless quantity having values ranging from 0.14 to 0.5.

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Acceptance angle and acceptance cone

The rays that enter fibre edge

within the angle 2θa will be
accepted by the fibre. The angle
2θa is called the acceptance angle.
In three dimensions, it is an
acceptance cone with semi-
vertical angle θa.

Optical Communication System

The most interesting application of fibre optics is optical communication, which is the
transfer of information from one place to another using light wave as carrier. A schematic
block diagram of an optical communication system is shown in figure below. Basically it
consists of three blocks-the transmitter, the optical fibre, and the receiver. The drive circuit of
the transmitter controls the light source.

In any system, there is a maximum allowed distance between the transmitter and receiver,
beyond which the system efficiency decreases considerably. At this point a regenerator is
placed in the circuit. It consists of a light receiver, a photon to electron conversion unit,
electrical amplification, pulse shaping and an electron to photon conversion unit. Together

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they rebuild the pulses to their original level and send them down the transmission line. The
receiver contains detector, amplifier and decoder units.

Advantageous of optical communication

1. Higher information carrying capacity (Bandwidth)

2. Small size and shape
3. Immunity to interference
4. Negligible cross talk
5. Low transmission loss
6. High signal security
7. Low cost
Fibre optic sensors

Fibre optic sensors are devices in which laser light guided by the fibre undergoes a
modulation in response to an external perturbation

Mainly there are four types of sensors can be made with optical fibre

1. Intensity modulated sensors. Eg. Force sensor

2. Phase modulated sensors. Eg. Temperature Sensor
3. Polarization modulated sensors
4. Wavelength modulated sensors
Intensity modulated sensor

Force sensor using micro-bend losses

Light from a source is split into two parts by a beam splitter, one of which serves as a
reference and the other is allowed through a fibre without jacket, which is placed between
two corrugated blocks (See fig). Force applied on the top block presses the fibre, which
introduces micro-bend losses in it. The changes in intensity due to theses losses are measured
with respect to the reference signal. The force can easily be evaluated, as the change in
intensity is related to the force.

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Phase Sensor

Temperature sensor using phase variations

As an example, consider a temperature sensor based on phase variation. Light from a laser is
split into two parts by a beam splitter; one part is allowed through the sensor element of the
fibre and the other through the reference fibre. As the sensor element is heated, the fibre
elongates, thereby increasing the path length for light. This changes the phase of the light that
reaches the detector. The phase comparator measures the difference in phase, which is related
to the temperature.

Qn.1. For a step index fibre having core index 1.43 and cladding index 1.4, calculate (i)
critical angle c (ii) critical propagation angle c (iii) numerical aperture.

(i) sinαc=n2/n1; αc=?

(ii) cosθc =n2/n1; θc =?
(iii) N.A = =?
Qn.2. A step index fibre has a core of refractive index 1.55 and a cladding of 1.53. If the
signal is launched from a medium of refractive index 1.3, (i) what is the numerical aperture?
(ii) what is the acceptance angle?

(i) N.A = n0sinθa = 0.248

(ii) n0sinθa = 0.248; sinθa = 0.248/1.3 = 0.1908; θa = 11o;
acceptance angle 2θa = 22o

Qn. 3. Write down the industrial, technological and medical applications of optic fibre

Qn. 4. Write down the industrial, technological and medical applications of LASER

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