Superconductor Sensors for Biomedical

Applications.
Vctor Alfonso Santos Logroo
Department of Electric And Electronics Engineering
Escuela Politcnica Nacional
victor.santos@epn.edu.ec

Abstract- Superconducting quantum interference devices,

SQUIDs have been a key factor in the development and
commercialization of ultrasensitive electric and magnetic
measurement systems.
In many cases, SQUID instrumentation offers the ability to
make measurements where no other methodology is possible.
Here shown a review the main aspects of designing,
fabricating, and operating a number of SQUID measurement
systems.

The most sensitive magnetic flux detector is the

superconducting quantum interference device, SQUID.
This device, operating at cryogenic temperatures with
quantum-limited sensitivity, has demonstrated field
resolution at the 1017 T level.
Key
WordsSuperconductor,
Sensors,
Applications, SQUID, Magnetic, Flux,
Magnetoencephalography, Magnetocardiography,
Magnetomyography, Magnetoneurography,
Magnetoenterography, Ferritometry.

Biomedical,

I. INTRODUCTION
It is called superconductivity have the inherent capacity of
certain materials to conduct electrical current without
resistance or loss of energy under certain conditions.
It was discovered by the Dutch physicist Heike
Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden.
The electrical resistivity of a metal conductor decreases
gradually as the temperature is reduced. However, in ordinary
conductors, such as copper and silver, impurities and other
defects produce a limit value. Even near absolute zero a
sample of copper shows a non-zero resistance. The resistance
of a superconductor, however, suddenly drops to zero when
the material is cooled below its critical temperature.
An electric current flowing in a coil of superconducting
wire can persist indefinitely with no power source. Like
ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity
is a phenomenon of quantum mechanics.
Superconductivity occurs in a wide variety of materials,
including simple elements such as tin and aluminum, various
metallic alloys and some heavily doped semiconductors.
Superconductivity does not normally occur in noble metals
such as copper and silver, or most ferromagnetic metals.
But in some cases, gold is classified as superconductor;
by its functions and mechanisms applied.
There are two types of superconducting devices, DC and
RF (or AC). RF superconducting devices have only one
Josephson junction, while the DC has two or more.
This makes them more difficult and expensive to produce,
but also much more sensitive. [1]

There are many ways to measure magnetic fields and

properties.
Sensing methods have been based on the use of induction
coils, flux gate magnetometers, magnetoresistive and Hall
Effect magnetometers, magneto-optical magnetometers, and
optically pumped magnetometers. Sensitivities range from
microtesla to picotesla levels.
II. BCS THEORY
It gets its name from the initials of those who devised:
John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer; It
was proposed in July 1957 trying to explain the phenomenon
of superconductivity.
In 1972 the three received the Nobel Prize for Physics
thanks to this theory.
This theory is considered the most important theory in the
field of superconductivity from the microscopic point of
view, trying to explain the properties of superconductors
from first principles.
However, much of superconductors remain without a
satisfactory explanation.
Previously, in 1950, Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev Landau
Ginzburg-Landau presented the theory, explaining various
aspects of superconductivity. However, the conditions of the
Cold War and which involved poor communication among
members of the scientific community prevented this theory
substantially influenced the work of Bardeen, Cooper and
Schrieffer.
Following the publication of the theory in 1958, Nikolay
Bogolyubov, reaffirmed the role of showing that the BCS,
which had initially been calculated variational wave could
also be obtained by a canonical transformation of the
electronic Hamiltonian.
A year later Lev Gor'kov related the BCS theory and
Ginzburg-Landau of demonstrating that the latter is a
particular case of the BCS for temperatures close to the
critical temperature.[2]
It is considered that in 1964, during the International
Conference on Science of Superconductivity, some consensus
among participants on the validity of the BCS theory was
reached. [3]
A. The attraction of electrons.
The theory is based on the fact that the charge carriers are
electrons but not electron pairs, known as Cooper pairs.
Electrons repel usually because they have the same charge.
However, when they are immersed in a crystal lattice, ie,
the microstructure of the material may energy between them

is negative, attractive, rather than positive, repulsive, so that

couples to minimize energy are created.
It is possible to understand the origin of attraction
between electrons thanks to a simple qualitative argument. In
a metal, the electrons having negative charge exert a pull on
the positive ions that are in its vicinity. These ions to be much
heavier than electrons have a much greater inertia.
For this reason, while an electron passes near a set of
positive ions, these ions do not immediately return to its
original equilibrium position. This results in an excess of
positive charges in place by which the electron has passed. A
second electron feels an attractive force as a result of this
excess positive charge.
Formally they say that electrons interact with each other
by phonons, these being a kind of imaginary or particle, as
they say in physics, a "quasiparticle" representing the
vibration of the crystal, generated network in this case by the
passage of electrons. [4]
B. The superconductor Bandgap.
This sort of, binding energy between the two electrons are
usually called bandgap superconductor and is denoted by the
symbol .
The concept is not related to the bandgap semiconductors,
except that it behaves similarly.

This theory explains well the behavior of certain

superconductors, known as conventional superconductors;
most of which are Type I superconductors, such as aluminum,
lead or mercury, but failed to predicting experimental results
for so-called unconventional superconductors; which they are
often more complex substances, alloys, ceramics or
fullerenes.
However, there is another theory, the Ginzburg-Landau
theory is helpful in the study of unconventional
superconductors from the macroscopic point of view, ie,
renouncing explain the properties strictly from the
Schrdinger equation.
Among these unconventional superconductors are high
temperature superconductors; those that can be found in
superconducting above 77 K, which are famous because
today has not yet found a satisfactory explanation of their
properties. [6]
Even knowing the properties of a material at elevated
temperatures, the theory also fails to predict whether it will
reach the state superconductor or not, since it is assumed that
superconductivity is associated with the electron-phonon
interaction.
Based on this idea, it is assumed that a substance should
be more likely to be superconducting at relatively high
temperatures in the following cases:
Electron-phonon interaction high
High density electronic states
Low-mass ions
However, in practice it has been found that the correlation
is weak to measure these properties compared to the fact that
the sample is superconductive. [7]
III. GINZBURG-LANDAU THEORY

Fig. 1. Ek superconductor (BCS Theory).

Ek is, under the BCS theory, the energy difference

between a system in which all electrons are in
superconducting state forming Cooper pairs, which is the
ground state, and the same system with a single unpaired
electron in the state k, which is the first excited state. As
shown in Fig. 1.
In a conductor in normal state, when it is not
superconductor, it is possible to excite an electron adding any
energy we want. Simply its kinetic energy will increase in
equal proportion.
However, in the case of a Cooper pair is different, if it is
applied less than 2 energy, because the bandgap is taken as
energy per electron, it will not be achieved excite as the pair
is not broken. If the energy is above 2, then the pair is
broken and energy, which on is converted into kinetic energy
of the electrons. [5]
C. Limitations.
Although the theory is remarkable in that it was the first
to shed light on this field, it is far from being the ultimate
theory.

The Ginzburg-Landau theory is one of the main theories

that explain the phenomenon of superconductivity with the
BCS theory. It was developed by Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev
Landau in 1950.
It is characterized by focus more on the macroscopic
theory, while the BCS theory focuses on quantum effects
related to the microscopic theory. In a comparison with other
fields of physics, one could say that the Ginzburg-Landau
theory is the BCS theory which thermodynamics,
macroscopic theory, statistical mechanics to microscopic
theory.
Theory Ginzburg-Landau finds its main application in the
study of non-conventional superconductors, many of which,
though not all are known as dirty superconductors because
they are characterized by their content of impurities, among
which are the famous high-temperature superconductors.
The reason is that although the theory more accurate,
which is the BCS theory successfully explains many details of
different superconductors, particularly those cases where the
value bandgap is constant throughout the space, is not it is
always applicable.
In fact, in many cases all the interest is based on the
inhomogeneity of the sample. The BCS theory is a
microscopic theory and therefore sometimes problems to be
faced are intractable for being too complex, and this is where
the only way out is to use the Ginzburg-Landau theory. [2]

IV. THE JOSEPHSON EFFECT

The Josephson effect is a physical effect that is
manifested by the appearance of an electric current through
tunnel effect between two superconductors separated. British
physicist Brian Josephson predicted this effect in 1962.
A year later, the Josephson junctions were built first by
Anderson and Rowell. These works were worth to Josephson
Nobel Prize in Physics 1973, along with Leo Esaki and Ivar
Giaever. According to the BCS theory, the electrical current
in the superconducting electrons not carry simple as is the
normal case, but pairs of electrons called Cooper pairs.
When the two superconductors are separated by a layer of
an insulating medium or a non-superconductor metal few
nanometers, Cooper pairs can cross the barrier by tunnel
effect, a characteristic effect of quantum mechanics.
Although Cooper pairs cannot exist in an insulator or a
non-superconducting metal, when the layer separating the two
superconductors is sufficiently narrow, they can cross and
save the consistency of phase. It is the persistence of this
phase coherence, resulting in the Josephson effect.

resistance, the current in a ring made of a normal

nonsuperconducting metal will quickly decay. [11]

Fig. 3. Meissner effect in a superconducting ring cooled in an externally

applied magnetic field.

VI. SUPERCONDUCTING QUANTUM INTERFERENCE DEVICES.

They were invented in 1962, when B. D. Josephson
developed the Josephson junction. SQUIDs, English acronym
for Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices.
There are two types of SQUID, DC and RF (or AC). The
RF SQUIDs have only one Josephson junction, while DC
SQUIDs have two or more. This makes them more difficult
and expensive to produce, but also much more sensitive. [1]
A. Composition and Functioning.
Most SQUIDs are manufactured of lead or pure niobium.
Lead is usually found as alloy with 10% gold, as pure lead is
not mechanically stable to repeated changes of temperatures,
extremely low temperatures at which they work.

Fig. 2. Real Josephson Junction.

A real Josephson junction shown in Fig. 2. The horizontal

line is the first electrode, while the vertical line is the second
electrode. The square that separates them is an insulator
which is in the center where the two electrodes a small
opening through which is the true union Josephson.
V. THE MEISSNER EFFECT
A unique property of the superconducting state is
observed if a superconductor is put in a magnetic field and
then cooled below its transition temperature. In the normal
state, magnetic flux lines can penetrate through the material.
For a hypothetical, perfectly conducting zero resistance
material, the currents induced by attempts to change the
magnetic field would prevent changes in the magnetic field
within the conductor. In contrast, in the superconducting state
flux lines cannot exist within the superconducting region
except for a shallow surface layer, called the penetration
depth.
As the material becomes superconducting, the magnetic
flux is expelled unlike a perfect conductor that would trap the
flux. This flux expulsion is called the Meissner effect and is a
consequence of the fundamental character of the
superconducting state, it is new physics.
If the superconducting material forms a ring, the flux
interior to the ring is trapped when the ring becomes
superconducting rather than expelled as in a continuous solid.
If the magnetic field is then turned off, a current, which
circulates around the ring keeping the magnetic flux inside
the ring constant, is induced. Because of the electrical

Fig. 4. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) as a simple

magnetometer.

The base electrode of the SQUID is made of a very thin

layer of niobium, formed by deposition, and the tunnel barrier
is formed by oxidation on the surface of niobium. The upper
electrode is a lead alloy layer deposited on the other two, in
sandwich arrangement.
The basic principle is closely linked to the quantization of
magnetic flux. This is the phenomenon by which the states
favored for a superconductor ring are those where the flow is
a multiple of a flux quantum. [9]
B. Materials.
The superconducting phase space is defined by the critical
temperature, the critical magnetic field, both of which are
intrinsic properties of the superconducting state, and the
critical current density, which is extrinsic and the value used
is that from the strongest pinning situation.

Fig. 5. The H-T phase space for a type-I and b type-II superconductors.

Materials, typically pure metallic elements such as Hg or

Pb that totally exclude flux in the superconducting state, up to
a well-defined transition temperature Tc are referred to as
type-I superconductors. Materials that exhibit the partial
Meissner effect described earlier are referred to as type-II
superconductors.
C. Applications.
The SQUIDs used to measure extremely small magnetic
fields; currently are the most sensitive magnetometers known.
Some processes in animals produce very weak magnetic
fields, typically a millionth of one billionth of a Tesla, and
SQUIDs are well suited to study these processes.
Magnetoencephalography, MEG, for example, uses
measures battery SQUIDs to infer neural activity in the brain.
As the SQUIDs can work much faster than the fastest rate of
interest brain activity, you can get good temporal resolution
by MEG. Another application is the SQUID scanning
microscope, using a SQUID immersed in liquid helium as a
probe. The use of SQUIDs in oil exploration, earthquake
prediction and analysis of geothermal energy is spreading as
technology develops superconductors. [9]
D. Limitations on SQUID Technology.
When utilizing SQUID-based measurement systems and
data reduction algorithms, it is important to bear in mind
several fundamental limitations:
SQUIDs are sensitive to relative (field or current) changes
only. This is a consequence of the fact that the output voltage
of a SQUID is a periodic function of the flux penetrating the
SQUID loop.

is possible to operate the electronics in a limited range mode

where the raw output is amplified without use of a feedback
signal. Although the SQUID has an intrinsic bandwidth of
several gigahertz, when operated with standard flux-locked
loop electronics using ac flux modulation, the maximum
usable bandwidth of most commercially available electronics
is typically 50100 kHz.
Another limitation is the presence of 1/ f noise. The use of
ac biasing in HTS SQUIDs limits their maximum bandwidth
to less than half the bias reversal frequency. If the bias
reversal frequency is too high, noise can be induced due to
voltage spikes in the transformer coupled preamplifier input
circuit.
Because of this, the maximum bandwidth of commercially
available HTS SQUIDs is usually limited to 50 kHz. If MHz
bandwidths are required, the ac bias is not used; however,
there will be excess noise below 1 kHz.
E. Electrical Noise.
SQUID magnetometers and gradiometers are highly
sensitive to external magnetic noise and radio frequency
interference (rfi).
Changes in power line and rfi intensities can cause the
optimum tuning parameters to change. By monitoring the
triangle height of the SQUID electronics in the tune mode, it
may be possible to observe the effect of external noise
sources.
If working with a SQUID specifically designed to
measure external fields, it is advisable to perform initial tests
in a magnetically shielded environment.
In particularly bad environments, if rfi is of concern,
wrapping the Dewar in aluminum foil may improve the
situation. This acts as an eddy current shield. While it may
reduce the systems bandwidth depending on the amount of
aluminum foil used and perhaps increase the systems white
noise, it can be very effective in attenuating rfi.
During the initial testing, be sure that the system is on a
sturdy platform. A flimsy table may cause motion-induced
noise. Also, be sure that the platform or whatever mounting
is being used is free of any ferromagnetic contaminants.
The instrumentation being used can be a source of noise.
Another source of rfi is microprocessor clock frequencies.
The leads going from the SQUID sensors to the electronics
have to be electrically isolated from any other circuitry.
Optoisolation fiber-optic coupling
can isolate the
microprocessor from the experiment. [11]
VII.

Fig. 6. Magnetoresistive- voltage vs externally applied flux at constant bias

current.

The SQUID is flux locked on an arbitrary point on the

curve, and the SQUID output is sensitive to flux changes
relative to this lock point.
If the signal changes faster than the feedback electronics
can follow i.e., the slew rate is exceeded and the total signal
change exceeds, it is possible for the operating point to shift
by one or more flux quanta. If high bandwidths are needed, it

BIOMEDICAL APPLICATION OF SQUIDS.

Electrical measurements of physiological potentials are

well established in clinical diagnostics. Essentially every
phenomenon in electrophysiology has a magnetic analog
since a magnetic field is associated with every electric
current. Analogous measurements of physiological magnetic
fields, however, are relatively unknown to researchers and
clinicians. Biomagnetic research encompasses many of the
major organs of the body, including the heart, brain, liver,
lungs, and muscles.

Fig. 9. Field contour map generation.

Using evoked response techniques, the location of signal

pathways and information processing centers in the brain can
be mapped at different delay times latencies following the
stimulus
Fig. 7. Magnetocardiogram of fetus, 29 week gestation.

Several new diagnostic procedures and instruments have

resulted from this work. These measurements are proving to
be of considerable significance.

B. Magnetoencephalography (Brain).
The MEG is the magnetic counterpart of the more familiar
EEG. The amplitude of the MEG signals is quite small, often
less than a picotesla peak-to-peak over the back of the head.
Spontaneous brain activity is readily observed using
SQUID magnetometers, without resorting to signal averaging.
By making MEG measurements from an array of magnetic
sensors, it has been demonstrated that sources of brain activity
can be localized to within a few millimeters.
By contrast, it is sometimes difficult to localize brain
activity to the correct hemisphere when using EEG.

Fig. 8. Typical amplitudes and frequency ranges for various biomagnetic

signals.

As shown in Fig. 8, biomagnetic signals range from

essentially dc to several hundred hertz, and the field
intensities range from about 50 to 106 fT.
The use of bioelectric signals as a diagnostic tool is well
known in medicine, e.g., the electrocardiogram, EKG, for the
heart and the electroencephalogram, EEG, for the brain.
The electrical activity that produces the surface electrical
activity that is measured by EEG and EKG also produces
magnetic fields.
The analogous magnetic measurements are known as the
magnetocardiogram, MCG and the magnetoencephalogram,
MEG. Other physiological processes also generate electrical
activity with analogous magnetic fields.
A. Magnetic Mapping.
Magnetic fields from active electrical sources in the body
can be measured passively and external to the body by placing
the magnetometer in close proximity to the bodys surface.
It has been shown that a spatially compact population of
neurons in the brain can be modeled as a current dipole that
generates a well-defined magnetic field profile.
Mapping of these field profiles can be used to infer the
location of the equivalent active dipole site region to within
millimeters.

Fig. 10. Whole head neuromagnetometer coil-in-vacuum construction.

MEG is presently the largest and most successful

commercial application of SQUIDs; more than 20 000
SQUID sensors have been installed in whole-cortex MEG
systems.
C. Magnetocardiography (Heart).
The MCG is the magnetic signal generated by the hearts
electrical activity. The MCG is homologous to the ECG.
A peak MCG signal of 50 pT can be measured over the
heart. This signal is easily measured by SQUID
magnetometer, with excellent signal-to-noise ratio.
Measurement of the hearts conduction system is
important in the diagnosis of diseases in which the heart has
an abnormal rhythm, reduced mechanical performance, and
higher susceptibility to sudden failure.

The ideal sensor placement for spinal cord measurements

may be that of a long rectangular array rather than the
hexagonal arrays that are used in MEG or MCG studies.
Figure 12 shows the result of an electrical stimulation of the
median nerve.

Fig. 11. MCG biomagnetometer components gantry and electronics not

shown.

The SQUID magnetometer is sensitive enough to

noninvasively detect the fetal magnetocardiogram Fig. 11.
The fetal electrocardiogram is often used by physicians as
a measure of fetal distress but detection of this fetal heartbeat
is often unreliable. This is because, later in gestation, the fetus
is coated with an oily substance called the vernix caseosa.
The vernix tends to electrically insulate the fetus, greatly
attenuating the fetal ECG. By contrast, the fetal MCG is not
attenuated by the vernix, making it possible to monitor the
D. Magnetomyography and Magnetoneurography (Muscle
and Peripheral Nerve).
The electrical activity of muscles and peripheral nerves
can readily be detected using magnetic sensors.
Here the chief advantage of biomagnetometry is its
contactless noninvasive nature. In order to make equivalent
electrical measurements, it is necessary to pass needle
electrodes through the skin into the vicinity of the nerve or
muscle.
Measurement systems for spinal cord or peripheral nerve
activities are defined by the temporal characteristics and
quasi-one-dimensional geometry of the signal. Neurological
events are typically on a 10 ms time scale, while spinal cord
and peripheral nerve events are typically on a 1 ms or faster
time scale.

E. Magnetoenterography (Stomach and Intestines).

Blockage of arterial blood flow ischemia
in the
gastrointestinal tract can lead to intestinal necrosis. Treatment
requires surgical intervention to remove or bypass any
necrotic intestinal tissue.
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract exhibits two types of
electrical activity: a high frequency in the hertz regime
spiking associated with muscle contraction and low frequency
oscillations known as the basic electric Rhythm (BER).
While the BER can be detected using electrodes, this is a
highly invasive procedure. Typically, the signal strength of a
BER signal is at the picotesla level.
SQUID technology offers the possibility of detection of
ischemia by monitoring the BER frequency.
Instrumentation for magnetoenterography is similar to
some magnetocardiography systems in channel count.

Fig. 13. Shift in BER before and after chemically induced occlusion of a
mesenteric intestinal artery. The BER frequency varies as a function of
position within the GI tract.

Because of the very low frequency nature of the BER,

significant attention must be paid to noise reduction. Highly
balanced gradiometers and the use of an eightelement
reference array are recommended, especially if unshielded
operation is desired.
Nonmagnetic ancillary equipments Dewar gantry, patient
bed, etc. are also required to avoid coupling in environmental
noise that could mask the very low frequency picotesla level
BER signals.
F. Ferritometry.
Although most body tissue is diamagnetic, organs rich in
iron, notably the liver, can be strongly paramagnetic due to
the iron storage compounds ferritin and hemosiderin.
The magnetic susceptibility of an organ can be determined
by measuring the small changes in an applied magnetic field
when the body is brought into the vicinity of the
magnetometer.

Fig. 12. Peripheral nerve signals generated by an electrical shock at the

median nerve.

Fig. 14. Typical patient movement is 10 cm vertically. The combination of a

second order detection coil and a first order magnetizing coil gives excellent
near field sensitivity while rejecting distant sources.

The system detects the dc change in flux as a function of

position beneath the magnet and detection coils. The applied
field is 30 mT directly beneath the Dewar tail, decreasing to a
few millitesla a few centimeters beneath the Dewar tail
G. Magnetopneumography (Lung).
Magnetopneumography, MPG, the measurement of
magnetizable material within the lungs has been an important
tool for measuring welding dust exposure in the ship building
industry in Sweden and Finland.

consumption. This has been overcome by the use of

magnetoresistive (MR) materials. A change in the resistivity
of a material due to a magnetic field is known as a
magnetoresistive effect.
Magnetoresistive-based devices, such as large GMR
sensors and spin valves, have been used to detect a variety of
commercially available magnetic microbeads and magnetic
nanoparticles, as a basis for biochip development.
Recent developments include on-going improvements in
device design and demonstrations of the reliability of these
techniques in real-world biological applications. The types of
MR sensors that are presently under investigation include
large GMR sensors and spin valves, anisotropic
magnetoresistive ring (AMR) sensors and Hall crosses.
Besides low cost, the most immediate advantage of MR
biochips may lie in combination with magnetic fieldgenerating chip structures, which can be used to rapidly focus
magnetically labeled biomolecules at sensor sites and, hence,
vastly reduce the time of hybridisation or other molecular
recognition processes.

Fig. 16. Magnetoresistive-based biochip designed with 12 pairs of spin valve

sensors, used for single or differential signal measurements.

Fig. 15. Magnetopneumography measurement system.

A magnetizing field is applied to the lungs and the

remnant field measured after removal of the field. The
remnant field outside the chest after exposure to a
magnetizing field can be as great as 1 nT.
The SQUID magnetometer is sensitive enough to detect
particles of magnetite in the lung at levels totaling as little as
20 g equivalent to 0.5 ng/cm3 of lung tissue.
By exposing the chest to an external magnetic field of
about 0.1 T, the magnetic particles become aligned and the
lungs weakly magnetized.
After the magnetization field is removed, the pattern of
magnetization, as sensed by magnetometers, can be used to
deduce the quantity and location of the magnetic particles.
SQUID magnetometers can also be used for measurements
of action potentials and tissue slices. [11]
VIII. CURRENT RESEARCH.
A. Magnetoresistive Biosensing.
Magnetic field sensors, such as superconducting quantum
interference devices (SQUIDS) and induction coils, have
previously been used in biodiagnostics, but their application
was limited by large size, low sensitivity and high power

The use of electric fields for this purpose has already been
commercialized by Nanogen, although this biochip platform
also employs costly fluorescence-based detection.
At present, MR biochips represent a young, but rapidly
expanding research area,promising high sensitivity, high
quality quantitative molecular recognition detection data for a
variety of biological applications. [10]
B. Cross-validation
of
microfabricated
atomic
magnetometers with superconducting quantum interference
devices for biomagnetic applications.
Some researches compare the performance of a chip-scale
atomic magnetometer CSAM with that of a superconducting
quantum interference device SQUID sensor in two
biomedical applications.
Magnetocardiograms MCGs of healthy human subjects
were measured simultaneously by a CSAM and a
multichannel SQUID sensor in a magnetically shielded room.
The typical features of MCGs are resolved by the CSAM,
matching the SQUID results. Magnetorelaxometry MRX
signals of iron nanoparticles were also obtained with the
CSAM and compared to similar measurements with a
SQUID.
Because SQUIDs require cryogenic cooling, which
implies significant cost and operational complexity, it is

desirable to investigate the use of alternative sensors for some

of these measurements.
Simultaneous measurements of biomagnetic signals from
humans with the CSAM and a SQUID allow a clear
comparison of these two sensors in a typical biomagnetic
measurement setting.

As the SQUIDs can work much faster than the fastest rate of
interest brain activity, you can get good temporal resolution
by MEG.
In many cases, SQUID instrumentation offers the ability
to make measurements where no other methodology is
possible. The most sensitive magnetic flux detector is the
superconducting quantum interference device, SQUID.
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applications, Applied Physics Letters,, 2010, doi: 10.1063/1.3491548.
[1]

Fig. 17. Raw MCG signal of a subject detected simultaneously with (a) the
CSAM and (b) a SQUID. Averaged MCG signal 200 beats of the same
person measured simultaneously with (c) the CSAM and (d) a SQUID.

The continuous raw signals obtained by the CSAM show

many features present in the SQUID measurements and
confirm that CSAMs are a promising technology for
biomagnetic applications. [12]
IX. CONCLUSIONS
It is called superconductivity have the inherent capacity of
certain materials to conduct electrical current without
resistance or loss of energy under certain conditions.
The electrical resistivity of a metal conductor decreases
gradually as the temperature is reduced. However, in ordinary
conductors, such as copper and silver, impurities and other
defects produce a limit value.
Superconductivity occurs in a wide variety of materials,
including simple elements such as tin and aluminum, various
metallic alloys and some heavily doped semiconductors.
Superconductivity does not normally occur in noble metals
such as copper and silver, or most ferromagnetic metals.
A unique property of the superconducting state is
observed if a superconductor is put in a magnetic field and
then cooled below its transition temperature. In the normal
state, magnetic flux lines can penetrate through the material.
There are two types of SQUID, DC and RF (or AC). The
RF SQUIDs have only one Josephson junction, while DC
SQUIDs have two or more. This makes them more difficult
and expensive to produce, but also much more sensitive.
Most SQUIDs are manufactured of lead or pure niobium.
Lead is usually found as alloy with 10% gold, as pure lead is
not mechanically stable to repeated changes of temperatures,
extremely low temperatures at which they work.
The SQUIDs used to measure extremely small magnetic
fields; currently are the most sensitive magnetometers known.
Some processes in animals produce very weak magnetic
fields, typically a millionth of one billionth of a Tesla, and
SQUIDs are well suited to study these processes.
Analogous measurements of physiological magnetic
fields, however, are relatively unknown to researchers and
clinicians. Biomagnetic research encompasses many of the
major organs of the body, including the heart, brain, liver,
lungs, and muscles.
Magnetoencephalography, MEG, for example, uses
measures battery SQUIDs to infer neural activity in the brain.