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Superconductor, Physics
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Semiconductor, Physics
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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material,

Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology.

Superconductivity
Superconductivity, effect of temperature and magnetic fields, Meissner effect, type I and II
superconductors, BCS theory, Applications.

Semiconductors
Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors (Descriptive and Analytical), Hall effect and its applications,
solar cells.

Magnetic Materials
Basic concepts in magnetism, classification of magnetic materials, BH characteristics, applications.

Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

Properties of nanomaterials optical, electrical, mechanical, and magnetic, Introduction to
nanotechnology and applications in computer chips, storage devices, catalysis, sensors,
environmental, space, defense and automobile. (6 Hrs)

Superconductivity
Introduction:

Superconductivity is a state of matter exhibited usually at very low temperatures where the
resistivity of the material drops to zero. The superconducting state is influenced by temperature
current and magnetic field. There exist critical values for these three parameters above which the
material passes into normal state.

Superconductivity: Phenomenon:
Metals are very good conductors of electricity as they contain a tremendous number of free
electrons. The low resistance offered by them to the flow of current is attributed to the scattering of
the free electrons by vibrating ions of the lattice. When temperature increases the amplitude of the
lattice vibrations increase and cause more scattering of electrons leading to more resistance. Even at 0
K metals offer finite resistance, called residual resistance, which is attributed to the scattering of
electrons by impurities and crystal defects present in the material. Prof. H.K.Onnes was verifying the
behavior of metals at very low temperatures and in 1911. He discovered that the electrical resistance
of highly purified mercury dropped abruptly to zero at a temperature of 4.15 K (see Fig. below). The
sudden drop in resistivity was quite unexpected and Onnes recognized it to be an entirely new
phenomenon. Onnes also found that the transition was reversible. When heated above the transition
temperature 4.15 K mercury regained its resistivity. Onnes named the phenomenon as
Superconductivity. Subsequently superconductivity was discovered in lead, zinc. aluminium and
other metals as well as in a number of alloys. Superconductivity was strictly low temperature

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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

phenomenon till 1980 when certain ceramic were found to exhibit superconductivity at higher
temperature about 120 K.
( A Textbook of Engineering Physics by Avadhanulu Kshirsagar Page no.- 103, Google Book)

Superconductors: “Superconductivity is the phenomenon in which electrical

resistance of the material suddenly disappears below a certain
temperature. The material that exhibit superconductivity and which
are in superconducting state is called as Superconductors.”

Transition Temperature:” The temperature art which normal material turns in to

superconductor is called as Transition Temperature(Tc).It is
also known as Critical Temperature”

Properties of Superconductors:
1) Zero Electrical Resistance: A superconductor is characterized by zero electrical resistivity. It is
not fundamentally possible to test experimentally whether the resistance is 0°. A method devised by
ones consisting of measuring the decrease of the current in a closed ring of superconducting wire.
The superconducting ring is kept in a magnetic field and it is cooled to below the critical temperature
so that it goes into the superconducting state. When the external magnetic field is switched off, a
current is induced in a ring. If the ring had a finite resistance, the current circulating in the ring would
decreases.

2) Critical Temperature (Tc): When a superconducting material is cooled below a certain

temperature it goes into the superconducting state from normal sate. The temperature at which a
material in normal state goes in to Superconducting state is known as the Critical Temperature (Tc).
The transition is reversible. When the temperature of the material is increased above the critical
temperature it passes into the normal state.

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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

3) Critical Magnetic Field (Hc); Superconducting state

depends on the strength of the magnetic field in which the
material is placed. Superconductivity vanishes if a
sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied. The minimum
magnetic field which is necessary to regain the normal
resistivity is called the Critical magnetic field Hc When
the applied magnetic field exceeds the critical value Hc the
superconducting state is destroyed and the material goes
into normal state. The value of Hc varies with temperature.
Fig. below shows the dependence of Hc on temperature in a
typical superconductor. At temperatures below Tc in the absence of magnetic field, the material is in
superconducting state. When a magnetic field is tic applied and as its strength reaches the critical
value Hc. The superconductivity in the material disappears. At any temperature T < Tc the material
remains superconducting until a corresponding critical magnetic field is applied. When the magnetic
field exceeds the critical value the material goes into normal state.
(A Textbook of Engineering Physics by Avadhanulu Kshirsagar Page no.- 1035, Google Book)

Type-I and Type-II Superconductors:

Superconductors are categorized into two categories depending on the way in which the transition
foam superconducting to normal state proceeds when the externally applied magnetic field exceeds
HC.

Type-I Superconductors:
In Type-I Superconductors the transition from superconducting state to normal in the presence of
magnetic field occurs sharply at the critical value of Hc. as shown in Fig below. Type-I
superconductors are perfectly diamagnetic. below Hc and completely expel the magnetic field from
the interior of the superconducting phase. Up to the critical field strength, the magnetization of the
material grows on proportion to the external field and then abruptly drops to zero at the transition to
the normal slate. as shown in Fig. below. The magnetic field can penetrate only the surface layer and
current can flow only in this layer. Consequently type-I superconductors are poor carrier of electrical
current.
Aluminum, lead and indium are examples of Type-I superconductors. The critical field is
relatively low for type-I superconductors. Type-I superconductors are also called soft
superconductors.

(A Textbook of Engineering Physics by Avadhanulu Kshirsagar Page no.- 1040, Google Book)

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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

Type- II Superconductor will only keep the whole magnetic field out until a first critical field Hc1 is
reached. Then vortices/mixed state start to appear. A vortex is a magnetic flux quantum that
penetrates the superconductor. Where the vortex appears the superconducting order parameter drops
to zero. In this region the metal is no longer a superconductor. Around the vortex a current starts to
circulate. Even though the vortices have formed, the rest of the metal stays superconducting. If the
field is increased to the second critical field H c2 the metal stops to be superconducting. Hc2 is usually
a lot bigger than Hc that’s why type II superconductors are typically used for superconducting
magnets.
(Superconductivity by Angelina Orthacker, http://lampx.tugraz.at/~hadley/ss2/problems/super/s.pdf)

Meissner effect, the expulsion of a magnetic field from the interior of a material that is in the process
of becoming a superconductor, that is, losing its resistance to the flow of electrical currents when
cooled below a certain temperature, called the transition temperature, usually close to absolute zero.
The Meissner effect, a property of all superconductors, was discovered by the German physicists W.
Meissner and R. Ochsenfeld in 1933.

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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

As a superconductor in a magnetic field is cooled to the temperature at which it abruptly

loses electrical resistance, all or part of the magnetic field within the material is expelled. Relatively
weak magnetic fields are entirely repulsed from the interior of all superconductors except for a
surface layer about one-millionth of an inch thick. The external magnetic field may be made so
strong, however, that it prevents a transition to the superconducting state, and the Meissner effect
does not occur.
(https://www.britannica.com/science/Meissner-effect#ref895490, 31st Oct,2020)

BCS theory: A comprehensive theory developed in 1957 by the American physicists John
Bardeen, Leon N. Cooper, and John R. Schrieffer (their surname initials providing
the designation BCS) to explain the behavior of superconducting materials. Cooper had discovered
that electrons in a superconductor are grouped in pairs, now called Cooper pairs, and that the motions
of all of the Cooper pairs within a single superconductor are correlated; they constitute a system that
functions as a single entity. Application of an electrical voltage to the superconductor causes all
Cooper pairs to move, constituting a current. When the voltage is removed, current continues to flow
indefinitely because the pairs encounter no opposition. For the current to stop, all of the Cooper pairs
would have to be halted at the same time, a very unlikely occurrence. As a superconductor is
warmed, its Cooper pairs separate into individual electrons, and the material becomes normal, or non-
superconducting.

(https://www.britannica.com/science/
BCS-theory)

Applications of Superconductor:
1) The most obvious application of superconductors is in
power transmission. If the national grid were made of
superconductors rather than aluminum then the savings would
be enormous there would be no need to transform the
electricity to a higher voltage (this lowers the current. which
reduces energy loss to heat) and then back down again.

2) Superconducting coils in transformers and electrical machines

generate much stronger magnetic fields than magnetic circuits
employing ferromagnetic materials produce. The normal eddy
current losses and hysteresis losses will not be present in
superconducting devices and hence the size of motors and

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 Unit – V: Superconductor, Semiconductor, Magnetic Material, 2021
Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology

generators will be drastically reduced. Thus superconductors are likely to revolution for the whole
range of routing electrical machines, making them smaller, lighter and highly efficient For example. a
superconducting generator about half the site of a copper wire generator is about 99% efficient:
typical generators an around 50% efficient.
3) High magnetic fields are required in many areas of research and diagnostic equipments in
medicine. The electromagnets are cumbersome being very big demand large electrical power and
require continuous cooling. Superconducting solenoids produce very strong magnetic fields. They arc
small in sum and arc less cumbersome. They do not need either large power supplies or the means of
removing heat. The only power required is to bring the solenoid into the superconducting state and
maintain it in that state. The low power requirement and simple cooling technique leads to a large
saving in cost. The development of superconductors has improved the field of MRI as the
superconducting magnet can be smaller and more efficient than an equivalent conventional magnet.
4) Type II superconductors can be used as very fast electronic switches due to the way in which a
magnetic field can penetrate into the superconductor - this has allowed researchers to build a 4-bit
computer microchip operating at about 500 times the speed of current processors, where heat output
is currently a major problem with typical speeds approaching the 1 GHz mark.
5) The most important application is Meg-Lev trains (Magnetic Levitation Trains)

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