Superconductivity

An Engineering Physics
Presentation
Shubham Thakur

INTRODUCTION

Discoverer: Dutch physicist Kamerlingh Onnes, in

1911.
He studied the electrical properties of solid 80Hg
using liquid 2He.
His Observation: At 4.2 Kelvin, resistivity suddenly
becomes 0!
Current, or super-currents, persist for years
independent of supply. This is superconductivity.
He received Nobel Prize for physics in 1913.
In 1913, 82Pb was found superconducting.
In 1941, NbN was found Superconducting.

Resistance Versus Temperature

Plot of resistance of Hg vs. Temperature, showing sudden decrease of TC = 4.2K
0.14
0.12

R
()

0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
4.18

4.2

4.22

4.24
T (K)

4.26

4.28

4.3

Magnetic Properties
If

the temperature is more than Critical

Temperature TC, superconductivity is not
seen.
If the Magnetic Field is more than Critical
Magnetic field at 0 K, superconductivity is not
seen at any temperature.
Magnetic
field approaches zero as T
approaches TC. Magnetic Field (B) varies as:
BC(0)

is magnetic field at 0 Kelvin, TC is

Critical Temperature at B = 0 Tesla.

Variation of TC with BC for Lead (Pb)

Meissner Effect
When T < TC and B < BC, then theres a
complete repulsion of magnetic flux lines due
to the activation of Cooper pairs.
As
a result of Newtons third law, the
superconductor levitates.
Material exhibits perfect diamagnetism.
When T > TC and B > BC, then
flux starts
penetrating completely. Resistivity is restored.
Superconductor no longer levitates.
Meissner effect is possible is conditions are
cryogenically lowered.

Type I & II
Superconductors
Type I or Soft Superconductors

Have unique Critical

Magnetic field (BC)
value.

Type II or Hard Superconductors

Have two Critical

Magnetic field values,
BC1 and BC2.

Type I & II Superconductors

Type I or Soft Superconductors

Exhibit
complete
Meissner Effect behind
BC.
Only
two
statesnormal
and
superconducting
Examples: Al, Cd, Sn,
Zn.
Have very small critical
temperature
values,
from 0 to 10 Kelvin.
They
are
Pure
elements.

Type II or Hard Superconductors

Exhibit
complete
Meissner effect behind
BC1 and incomplete in
between BC1 and BC2.
Have normal, vortex
(mixed)
and
Superconducting states.
Examples:
Nb3Sn,
Cs2RbC60.
Have
comparatively
large, more than 20
Kelvin, up to 170 Kelvin.
Mixtures of different
elements.

The Special Case of Type II

Superconductors
For

B < BC1 total cancellation of magnetic field

occurs, material is superconducting.
For B > BC2, resistivity is normal due to
complete penetration of magnetic flux.
For BC2 < B < BC2, partial penetration of flux
occurs. The group of flux lines penetrating the
material is called flux tubes or vortices.
Only that region where penetration occurs,
have normal resistivity. Rest of the material
remains superconducting.
Each flux tube contains one quantized unit of
flux called fluxoid.

Vortices
Vortex
Vortex

BC1 & BC2 of Hard Superconductors

Type I & II Superconductors

TC and BC Values at 0 K for some Superconductors

London Penetration Depth

In

soft superconductors, magnetic fields are

expelled from the interior by the formation of
surface currents, but still penetrate the surface.
Thus theres a substantial decrease in the
magnetic field w.r.t. depth, exponentially, by the
relation:

Where, is the London Penetration Depth.

depends on temperature as:

Isotope Effect
T
C

for different isotopes for same

material are different. This is isotope
effect. They are related:

M is the average isotopic mass and a

varies from material to material(usually
0.5).

BCS Theory
Discoverers:

Bardeen, Cooper & Schrieffer.

Basis:
Electron-phonon interaction, and
weakening of like charge repulsion.
Causes: Isotope Effect and superconductivity.
Particle involved: Cooper pairs, & phonons.
Cooper pairs so formed have the tendency to
repel the magnetic field.
Cooper pairs emerge as the result of
formation of phonons.

Cooper Pairs

An

electron moving through the lattice

attracts the positive charges formed due to
the magnetic field, resulting increased
positive charge density in that lattice region.
This region of increased charge density
propagates through the material as a
vibrational wave in the lattice, called a
phonon.
Another electron is also attracted and it may
get closer to the first electron due to
weakened repulsion due to low temperature,
forming a Cooper pair.

A Phonon Mediator

A Virtual
Phonon
Mediator

Cooper Pairs
Cooper

pairs have equal but opposite spin

angular momentum and linear momentum.
Cooper pairs have net 0 spin and 0 linear
momentum, thus act as bosons (photon).
Thus many cooper pairs can be in same
quantum state and thus defy Paulis Exclusion
Principle. Because a propagating boson
(photon) creates alternating electric and
magnetic field, they repel the external
magnetic field.
And
hence
can
mediate
altogether,
correlatively in superconducting state.

Superconducting Energy Gap

All

e- in a cooper pair can absorb/emit a

photon when the binding of the pairs is
broken.
The energy needed to break a Cooper
pair into the e- is called Superconducting
energy gap.
At

T = TC, Eg = 0, and if T is increased

from 0, Eg reduces.
Eg values for superconductors are nearly
10000 times to that of semiconductors.

Magnetic Flux Quantization

In

normal conducting ring, all flux lines easily

pass through.
In superconducting ring, fixed number of lines
pass through the center due to repulsion, by the
relation:
Each

group of lines is called quantum fluxoid.

If n = 1, then = 2.0678 fTm2. {1f = 10-15)

Josephson Junction

In barrier to penetration, an electron

tunnels through the barrier (thin insulator).
This is called quantum tunneling.
Josephson, in 1962 proved that cooper pairs
can tunnel from one superconductor to
another.
This involves no resistance, but a direct
current without any potential difference
through the junction.
This
superconductor-insulatorsuperconductor junction is called Josephson
junction.

D.C. Josephson Effect

In

the absence of potential, the current

flows through the junction by the
tunneling effect. The current I is given
as:

Imax

is the maximum current dependent

on the thickness of the barrier; and is
the phase difference of the wavefunctions on the sides of the insulating
layer. This is D.C. Josephson effect.

Electron pairs tunneling through the

oxide barrier between the two
superconductor junctions

A.C. Josephson Effect

When

applied a D.C. potential to the

junction, current starts flowing with the
frequency f:

Thus

an A.C. current flows. This is called

A.C. Josephson effect.
This phenomena is invertible- when A.C.
is applied, D.C. Current flows through
the circuit.

High Temperature Superconductivity

High

TC values.
Are Compounds of many elements.
Have perovskite crystal structure.
They are reactive and brittle.
They usually contain Copper oxides as main
constituent.
Have 1-2-3 ratio of its constituents (more than
three), generally called Ceramics.
E.g. YBa2Cu3O7 93 K, La1-xSrxCuO (at x = 0.15)
40 K, BiAl1-yCaSrCoO7-d (d < 0.45 & y < 0.3) 114
K, Tl2Ba2Can-1CunO2n+4 (80, 110 & 125 K for n = 1,
2, & 3), HgBa2Ca2Cu3O1+x with x<<1, TC = 164 K.

High
Temperature
Superconductor
cooled by the help of Liquid Nitrogen,
is a typical Yttrium-Barium-Copper
oxide ceramic

Applications
Large

distance power transmission ( = 0).

Switching
device
(easy
destruction
of
superconductivity)-Cryotron.
Sensitive electrical equipment (small Voltage
variation large constant current).
Memory / Storage element (persistent current)
Highly efficient small sized electrical generator
and transformer.
Superconducting
solenoids

magneto
hydrodynamic power generation plasma
maintenance.

Quantum levitation trains Meissner

effect

They
They levitate,
levitate, so
so are
are frictionless
frictionless and
and faster,
faster, due
due to
to
electromagnetic
electromagnetic repulsions
repulsions between
between the
the track
track and
and the
the
train.
train.

Medical Fields
Brain

wave activity
brain
tumour,
defective cells.
Separate
damaged
cells and healthy cells.
NMR

Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance
Scanning.

SQUID

SQUID
SQUIDs

are used to detect extremely small

magnitudes of Magnetic fields, on the basis of
D.C. Josephson effect.
Invention: DC SQUID in 1964 by Robert Jaklevic,
John Lambe, Arnold Silver, and James Mercereau
of Ford Research Labs.
Principle: Small change in magnetic field,
produces variation in the flux quantum.
Consists of two superconductors separated by
thin insulating layers to form two parallel
Josephson junctions.

SQUID

Perpendicular B induces current between

the junctions.
Hence detects very minute
magnetic
signals.
Two types of SQUID:
RF SQUID- One Josephson Junction
DC SQUID- Two/more Josephson Junctions.
Used to study the magnetostatics of Brain
and Heart
To study earthquakes
Removing Paramagnetic impurities.

Present Status
The research for room-temperature
superconductivity is on run.
Theres
huge
craze
within
the
researchers to bring superconductivity to
room temperature, and simultaneously to
attain the 0 Kelvin within the Labs.
The achievement of superconductivity
was a major breakthrough towards many
branches and application of physics.
But superconductivity at 164 Kelvin was a
greater achievement.

THANK YOU