MODULE - IV

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS

Electrical Conductivity in metals Resistivity and Mobility, Concept of Phonon, Matheissen’s rule,
Failures of Classical Free Electron Theory, Assumptions of Quantum Free Electron Theory, Fermi
Energy, Density of States, Fermi Factor, Variation of Fermi Factor With Temperature and Energy.
Numerical Problems.

Superconductivity Introduction to Super Conductors, Temperature dependence of resistivity, Meissner’s

Effect, Critical Field, Temperature dependence of Critical field, Types of Super Conductors, BCS theory
(Qualitative), Quantum Tunnelling, High Temperature superconductivity, Josephson Junctions
(Qualitative), DC and RF SQUIDs (Qualitative), Applications in Quantum Computing: Charge, Phase
and Flux qubits, Numerical Problems.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

The current density per unit electric field is called as electrical conductivity andis given by

n𝑒2 r
𝝈=
𝑚

n- the number of electrons/unit volume; e- charge of electron

τ- mean collision time or relaxation time; m – mass of the electrons

Electrical resistivity is defined as the ability of a material to resist the flow of current through it.
It is reciprocal of conductivity and give by

𝑚
𝝆=
n𝑒2r

MOBILITY OF ELECTRONS
The mobility of electrons is defined as the magnitude of the drift velocity acquiredby the
electrons in a unit electric field. It is given by

𝑉𝑑 er
𝜇= =
e m
n- the number of electrons/unit volume; e- charge of electron
τ- mean collision time or relaxation time; m – mass of the electrons

CONCEPT OF PHONON

Phonon is a unit of vibration energy that arises from oscillating atoms within a crystal. In any
solid crystal, it consists of atoms bound into a repeating three-dimensional pattern called a
lattice. Since atoms behave a mass suspended to tiny springs, the thermal energy produced due
to their vibration or outside forces make the lattice to vibrate. This vibration generates a
mechanical wave that carries heat and sound through the material. As the packet of these waves

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 MODULE - IV

can travel throughout the crystal with a definite energy and momentum, the quantum

mechanical term associated with theses waves can be treated as a particle and called as phonon.
A phonon is a discrete unit or quantum of vibrational mechanical energy, just like as photon in
electromagnetic waves or light energy.

MATTHIESSENS RULE

Effect of impurity on electrical resistivity of metals

The presence of impurities in metals results either dislocation in the lattice or increase grain
boundary region. It results in the increment of resistance know as residual resistivity. Residual
resistivity is present even at absolute zero temperature also and it is independent of temperature.

Residual resistivity is given by

𝑚
𝝆=
𝑛𝑒2τ r

Effect of temperature on the electrical resistivity of metals

During the random motion of electrons, these electrons undergo scattering from vibrating ions.
The scattering of electrons due to vibrating ions is called phonon scattering. The phonon
scattering is one of the reason which gives rise to the resistance in metals. As the temperature of
metal increases, the amplitude of vibration also increases and thereby increases the collision
between electron and ions which leads to an increase in the resentence of metal. The resistivity
observed due to phonon scattering is called ideal resistivity and denoted by ph.

Ideal resistivity is given by

𝑚
𝝆=
𝑛𝑒2τ ph

Where ph is called mean collision time of phonon

Therefore the net resistivity is given by

𝑚 𝑚
𝝆= +
𝑛𝑒2τ r 𝑛𝑒2τ ph

Above equation is called Matthiessens rule.

Matthiessens rule states that the net resistivity of metal is equal to the sum of resistivity due to
phonon scattering which is temperature dependent and resistivity due to impurity which is
temperature independent.

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 MODULE - IV

FAILURES OF CLASSICAL FREE ELECTRON THEORY

1. Specific Heat:
At constant volume, the specific heat C v  3 2 R . But experimentally it was found that the
4
contribution to the specific heat of a metal by its conduction electrons was C v  10 RT .
Thus the value of C v as per prediction is far higher than the experimentally observed value
and also the theory predicts that the specific heat does not depend on temperature.

2. Temperature Dependence of electrical conductivity:

Experimentally it was found that
1
   (1)
T
But according to the assumption of classical free electron theory,
1
   ( 2)
T
From (1) and (2) it is clear that the prediction of classical free electron theory is not agreeing
with the experimental observations.

3. Dependence of Electrical conductivity on Electron Concentration:

As per the classical free electron theory, the electrical conductivity  is given by

ne 2

m
where n is the electron concentration ,  n
Let us consider the Zinc and Cadmium, the electron concentration of zinc and cadmium are
13.1x1028 /m3 and 9.28x1028 /m3 respectively, which are much higher than that copper and
silver, the values for which are 8.45x1028 /m3 and 5.85x1028 /m3 respectively. Here Zn and Cd
must possess higher conductivities that that of Cu and Ag (Silver). But conductivities of Zn
and Cd are respectively 1.09x107/Ωm and 0.1509x107/Ωm. which are much lesser than that
for Cu and Ag, the values for which are 5.8809x10 7/Ωm and 6.30x107/ m respectively.

Metal Valence  ( 107 Ω -1m ) n (1028 /m3 )

Cu 1 5.88 8.45
Ag 1 6.3 5.85
Zn 2 1.09 13.10
Cd 2 0.15 9.28
Al 3 3.65 18.06

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 MODULE - IV
QUANTUM FREE ELECTRON THEORY
In 1928, Arnold Sommerfeld succeeded in overcoming many of the drawbacks of the classical free
electron theory by using Pauli’s exclusion principle and is known as quantum free electron theory. The
main assumptions of quantum free electron theory are
1. The energy values of the conduction electrons are quantized.
2. The distribution of electrons in the various allowed levels occurs as per Pauli’s
exclusion principle.
3. The electrons travel in a constant potential inside the metal but stay confined within its
boundaries.
4. The attraction between the electrons and the lattice ions and the repulsion between the
electrons are ignored.

FERMI ENERGY

There are ‘N’ allowed energy levels for free electrons in a metal which are separated by energy
differences that are the characteristics of the material and are quantized. As per Pauli’s exclusion
principle, each allowed energy level can accommodate a maximum of two electrons with opposite spin.
The filling up of the electrons in the energy levels should be undertaken from the lowest energy level.
So, in each energy level there are two electrons one with spin up and other with spin down. However
there are still higher energy levels left vacant. “The energy of the highest occupied energy level at zero
degree absolute is called Fermi energy (EF) and the energy level is referred as Fermi level”

DENSITY OF STATES

In a solid material, the permitted energy levels are in terms of bands. Each band is spread over an energy
range of few eVs and the number of energy levels in each band is extremely large. Because of such
distribution, the energy values appear to be virtually continuous over the band. A closer look reveals that
the energy levels are not evenly distributed in the band. i.e. the density of energy levels in the band varies
with the energy. This is realized through a function known as density of states function denoted as g (E).
“It is the number of allowed energy levels per unit energy interval in the band associated with the material
per unit volume”.

The number of states in an energy range E and E+dE for the electrons in a 3 – dimensional solid of unit
volume or Density of states in the energy interval dE at ‘E’ is given by

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 MODULE - IV

FERMI FACTOR
At temperatures above absolute zero, the material will be receiving thermal energy from the
surroundings. So the electrons just below the Fermi level absorb the thermal energy and will occupy the
higher empty levels. The electrons occupying energy levels far below the Fermi level cannot absorb
this energy because there are no unoccupied higher energy levels into

which the electrons can come into, when their energies increase by small amount.
Though such excitations seem to be random the resulting distribution of electrons in various energy
levels after excitation will be systematic. The distribution is governed by a statistical function when the
system is in thermal equilibrium (steady state).
The probability ‘f(E)’ that a given energy state with energy ‘E’is occupied at a steady temperature is

given by

“Fermi factor is defined as the probability of occupation of a given energy statefor a material inthermal
equilibrium”.

Dependence of Fermi factor on temperature and effect on the occupancy of energy levels:

The probability ‘f(E)’ that a given energy state with energy ‘E’ is occupied at a steadytemperature is
given by

The different cases of distribution are as follows CASE1:

Probability of occupation for E < EF at T = 0K
When T = 0K and E < EF, we have

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 MODULE - IV
Therefore, f(E) = 1, for E < EF

It means that the energy level is certainly occupied and E < EF applies to all the energy levelsbelow ‘EF’.
CASE2: Probability of occupation for E > EF at T = 0K

When T = 0K and E < EF, we have

f(E) = 0, for E > EF,

At T = 0K, all the energy levels above the Fermi level are unoccupied.
Thus, at T = 0K, the variation of f(E) for different energy values, becomes a step function asshown in
the figure below

CASE 3: Probability of occupation at ordinary temperature:

At ordinary temperatures f(E) remains 1 for E << EF, and starts decreasing from 1 as ‘E’becomes
closer to EF as sown in fig.
At E = EF we have,

The value of f(E) becomes ½ at E = EF. Thus, Fermi energy is the most probable energy or the average
energy of the electrons which undergo transitions across the Fermi level at temperature above zero degree
absolute.

Introduction to Super Conductors

The phenomenon of superconductivity was discovered by Kemerling Onnes in 1911, when he

was measuring the resistivity of mercury at low temperature. He observed that the electrical resistivity
of pure mercury drops to zero at 4.2K. The material has passed into a new state called the
superconducting state.
The materials that show this behavior of zero electrical resistance are called
superconductors. The temperature at which a material attains superconductivity is called critical
temperature ‘Tc’.

Superconductors have the ability to conduct electricity without the loss of energy. Superconductivity
is applied to many diverse areas such as medicine, theoretical and experimental science,

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 MODULE - IV

military, transportation, power production, electronics, and many other areas. With the
discovery of high-temperature superconductors, which can above liquid nitrogen temperatures
(77 K), superconductivity is now well within the reach of scientists.

Temperature Dependence of resistivity of Superconductors:

An increase in temperature of a material, will increase the thermal agitation of ions about their
mean positions, which reduces the mean free path of electrons and hence an increase in its
resistance. On the other hand, as the temperature decreases, the thermal agitation decreases
which reduces the resistance as shown in the figure. The resistance of a superconductor in the
non- superconducting state decreases with decrease in temperature up to a particular temperature
‘Tc’. At ‘Tc’, the resistance abruptly drops to zero. Tc is called the critical temperature and
signifies the transition from the normal state to the superconducting state of the material. The
critical temperature is different for different superconductors.

Meissner Effect:
A superconductor will not allow a magnetic field to penetrate its interior when kept in a
magnetic field i.e., it expels the magnetic flux out of its body when it is cooled below the
critical temperature and thus becomes a perfect diamagnet.
"The phenomenon of expulsion of magnetic lines of force from the interior of a
superconductor when it is cooled below its critical temperature Tc in a magnetic field is called
Meissner Effect”. This means that the magnetic induction (B) is zero inside the
superconductor.
Thus, a superconductor is a perfect diamagnetic material. When the temperature of the material is raised
above Tc, the flux suddenly starts penetrating the specimen at T = T c, as a result of which the material
returns to the normal start. Thus, Meissner Effect is reversible

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 MODULE - IV

Temperature dependence of Critical field

A sufficiently strong magnetic field can destroy superconductivity in a sample. The field at
which superconductivity is destroyed is called the critical magnetic field.
“The minimum magnetic field required to switch a material from its superconducting state to
its normal state is called critical field (Bc or Hc)”.
Bc depends on the material and temperature. The variation of the critical field Bc with
temperature is as shown below. At any temperature T>Tc, the material remains
superconducting until a corresponding critical field is applied. When the magnetic field exceeds
the critical value, the material goes into the normal state. The critical field decreases
progressively with increasing temperature. The dependence of critical field on temperature is
according to the relation

Here Tc → the critical temperature or normal superconducting transition temperature in the

absence of the magnetic field and Bo is the critical field at 0 K.

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 MODULE - IV

Types of Superconductors:

Superconductors are divided into two classes depending on the way in which the transition
from superconducting state to normal state occurs when externally applied magnetic field
exceeds the critical field Bc. They are,
1. Type – I superconductors
2. Type – II superconductors

Type – I superconductors:

In Type- I superconductors, the transition from superconducting state into normal state takes
place abruptly at the critical field B c. For magnetic fields B>Bc, the material is a perfect
diamagnetic and completely expels the magnetic lines of force from the interior. The magnetic
field inside the sample is 𝐵 = 0 = 𝐵𝑎 = 𝜇0𝑀 where 𝐵𝑎 is the applied field and M is the
magnetization of the sample. In this state −𝜇0𝑀 = 𝐵𝑎

In the superconducting state it completely expels the magnetic lines of force from its interior.
The magnetic moment grows in proportion to the external field and then abruptly drops to
zero at the critical field Bc. Such materials which abruptly change from superconducting state
to normal state at a single critical magnetic field are called type I- superconductors. Very pure
samples of lead, mercury and tin are examples of Type I superconductors

Type – II Superconductors:

These superconductors are characterized by two critical magnetic fields

𝐵𝐶1 and 𝐵𝐶2. Up to 𝐵𝐶1the material is a perfect diamagnetic and expels the magnetic flux
completely from its interior (Meissner Effect). When applied field reaches the value 𝐵𝐶2, it
loses its superconductivity and becomes a normal material.

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 MODULE - IV
Between𝐵𝐶1 and𝐵𝐶2, the sample is in a mixed or vortex state having both properties of normal
conductor and a superconductor. In this state the sample continues to exhibit zero resistivity but allows
the magnetic flux in regular array of flux tubes each carrying a flux quantum 𝜑0 = h / 2 e. These
superconductor have negative magnetic moment which varies with the applied magnetic field.
Magnetic moment increases with magnetic field up to 𝐵𝐶1, then decreases and vanishes completely at
𝐵𝐶2. Materials which exhibit Meissner state below a critical field 𝐵𝐶1 , a mixed state between the
critical fields 𝐵𝐶1and 𝐵𝐶2, a normal state above
𝐵𝐶2 are called Type– II superconductors. Alloys of Niobium, silicon and ceramic superconductors,
YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and Bi2CaSr2Cu2O9 are Type – II superconductors.

BCS Theory: (Bardeen, Cooper, Schrieffer Theory):

The American physicists, Bardeen, cooper and Schrieffer developed in 1957, the quantum theory of
superconductivity. Starting from the two experimental results, namely the isotope effect and the variation
of electronic specific heat with temperature, they based their theory on interaction of two electrons
through the intermediary of phonons.
The basic features of the theory are
1. Electron – lattice interaction
2. Formation of electron pair bound state known as cooper pair state
3. Normal metallic state with free single electron becoming unstable

During the flow of current in a superconductor, when a electron comes near a positive ion core of the
lattice, it experiences a attractive force. As a result, the ion core gets displaced towards the electron
creating a region of enhanced positive charge. This region attracts another nearby electron, which reduces
the energy of the electron. This is equivalent to an attractive force between two electrons through the
lattice. The attractive force is showed to be maximum if the two electrons have equal and opposite spins
and momentum. Such electrons are weakly bound together forming a pair called Cooper pair.
Cooper pair is a bound pair of electrons formed by the interaction between the electrons with opposite
spin and momenta in a phonon field.
A wave function could be associated with a cooper pair which extends over a large volume with finite
value for its amplitude. As a result, the wave functions associated with similar cooper pair starts
overlapping. This leads to a union of vast number of cooper pairs in which, motion of one is aided by the
other. The binding energy of electrons in a cooper pair is high enough to prevent the pair from being
separated by scattering. Hence cooper pairs propagate through the material without resistance or
conductivity becomes infinity.
Note: The electrons in cooper pair have opposite spins, so the pair has a total spin of zero. As a result, the
electron pairs in a superconductor are bosons.

High – Temperature Superconductors:

Materials are found to become superconductors when they are cooled to very low temperature of
about 15K or less. In 1986, A class of new compounds where discovered which shows
superconductivity at 30K. This was followed by a group of materials which lost their resistivity
at high temperature above 77K, which is the boiling point of nitrogen. These materials which
have a transition temperature above 77K are called high – temperature superconductors.
The new superconductors are all of Type - II and have high Bc2 values. These are ceramic
materials consisting of layers of oxide sandwiched between layers of the other metal oxides, the
best known are BSCCO and YBCO. These are brittle and difficult to make into wires, cannot
carry high current and tend to be unstable over long periods. These difficulties prevented the
wide use of new superconductors. The use of liquid nitrogen for reducing temperature of the
material has reduced the cost of cooling enormously. High temperature superconductors bear
the Perovskite crystal structure.

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 MODULE - IV

Quantum tunneling

Quantum tunnelling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an object such like

electron or atom passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical
mechanics, the object does not have sufficient energy to enter or overcome. Tunneling is due
to the wave nature of matter, where the quantum wave function describes the state of a
particle or other physical system, and wave equations such as the Schrödinger
equation describe their behavior.The probability of transmission of a wave packet through a
barrier decreases exponentially with the barrier height, the barrier width, and the tunneling
particle's mass, so tunneling is seen most prominently in low-mass particles such
as electrons or protons tunneling through microscopically narrow barriers. Tunneling is
readily detectable with barriers of thickness about 1–3 nm or smaller for electrons, and about
0.1 nm or smaller for heavier particles such as protons or hydrogen atoms.

Josephson effect

Josephson effect is a phenomenon that occurs when two superconductors are placed in
proximity, with some barrier or restriction between them. It is an example of a macroscopic
quantum phenomenon, where the effects of quantum mechanics are observable at ordinary,
rather than atomic, scale.
The Josephson effect produces a current, known as a supercurrent, that flows continuously
without any voltage applied, across a device known as a Josephson junction (JJ). These
consist of two or more superconductors coupled by a weak link.
Josephson junctions have important applications in quantum-mechanical circuits, such
as SQUIDs, superconducting qubits, and RSFQ digital electronics.

DC Josephson Effect

Consider a Josephson junction having two superconducting films separated by a thin oxide
barrier of 10 to 20 A thick. Let it be connected as shown in circuit.The cooper pairs in
superconductors can be represented by a wave function and is same in all cooper pairs.
The cooper pair tunnels from one side of circuit to another side of circuit easily.

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 MODULE - IV

The insulating oxide layer introduces phase difference between the wave function of cooper
pair when it moves through it.Due to this a super current appears across the junction even
though applied voltage is zero . This is called dc-Josephson effect.
The supercurrent is given by Is = IcSino

AC Josephson effect

If we apply a dc voltage across the Josephson junction, it introduces as additional phase on

cooper pairs during tunneling. This results in a generation on an alternating current given by
IS = IC Sin (o + o)
Because of the dc voltage V applied across the barrier, the energies of Cooper pairs on the
both sides of the barrier differ in the energy by 2eV

SQUID
A superconducting quantum interface device (SQUID) is a device used to measure extremely
weak magnetic flux. It is basically made up from superconducting ringsThe magnetic flux
penetrates the superconducting ring in order of o = h/2e. SQUIDs are sensitive enough to
measure fields as low as 5×10−14 T

DC - Squid

It has two Josephson junctions parallel to each other in superconducting loop. It depends on
the interference of current from each junction. Dc-Squid is biased with a dc current which is
two times of superconducting current IC. This creates the dc voltage across junction Change
in the flux penetrating the loop enhances the current through one JJ and reduces through
otherThis results in on JJ working normally and another one will be superconducting. This
asymmetry produces feedback current which resists the penetration of flux in SQUID
loop.This feedback current is direct measure of change in magnetic flux applied to the flux.

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 MODULE - IV

RF(AC) - Squid
It is based on the AC Josephson effect and consists of only one Josephson junction in
superconducting loop. It is less sensitive compared with DC-squid by cheaper and easier to
manufacture.In this SQUID, the flux is coupled into a loop containing single JJ connected
with i/p coil and RF coil. RF coil is a part of high Q resonant circuit. The circuit is driven by
RF oscillator. The change in current observed in i/p coil is done by measuring the no of
periods.

Application of superconductivity in quantum computing

Charge Qubit
In quantum computing, charge qubit is also known as cooper pair box. In these qubits basis
states are charged states which represent the presence are absence of cooper pairs. The dotted
region in the circuit represents the presence or absence of cooper pairs charged qubit is
formed by a tiny superconductor coupled with Josephson junction

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 MODULE - IV

Flux Qubit

Flux qubits are microsized loops of superconductors that are interrupted by number of
Josephson junctions. These devices work as quantum bits. They are designed in such a way
that constant current will flow wen an external magnetic field is applied

Phase Qubit

It is a current based Josephson junction operates under zero voltage state and non-zero
current bias. This employs a single Josephson junction and two levels are defined by the
phase difference of electrode in the junction DC squid is an example or phase qubit.

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