SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

What is Superconductivity?
For some materials, the electrical resistivity vanishes at
certain low temperature, becoming superconductors.

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

Nobel Prize in
physics (1913)

Superconductivity was discovered by Dutch scientist Heike Kamerlingh

Onnes in 1911.
1911
Superconductors have several pronounced advantages compared to
conventional conductors:
- can carry much higher currents
- can create vastly higher magnetic fields
- no energy loss to resistance
Practical applications are still limited.

1
(A) The critical temperatures for superconducting transitions
Theories predicted that 30 K was the highest possible temperature for
superconductivity. In 1986, a family of ceramic and oxide materials
that superconduct at much higher temperatures were discovered.

A theoretical understanding of high-temperature superconductivity

is an important unsolved problem in physics

(B) A brief timeline for the research and discoveries on

superconductivity

2
What are the Hallmarks of Superconductors?
Superconductors are more than perfect conductors, they also show
interesting magnetic properties.
(A) Zero resistance R
Superconducting transition:
- Very narrow T < 10-4 K
- Reversible
- The critical temperature (Tc) is
generally very low. R0
Al: 1.2 K ; Hg: 4.6 K; Pb: 7.2 K;
Au: < 0.001 K (not superconducting!)
Tc Temperature

IIs the
th electrical
l t i l resistance
i t really
ll zero??
- Currents have been flowing in rings in laboratories
with no detectable loss for > 50 years !
- Theory predicts that the current can continue for t >
age of universe.

3
Magnetic fields tend to destroy superconductivity
B
The critical field, Bc, that destroys the
superconducting state obeys a parabolic B0
law : Bc(T)
T 2
Bc Bo 1
c
T
where Bo = constant, T = temperature and T
Tc = critical temperature.

In general, the higher Tc, the

higher Bc.

Experimental results

Tc (Pb) = 7.19 K
Tc (Hg) = 4.15 K
Tc (Sn) = 3.72 K
Tc (In) = 3.41 K
Tc (Ti) = 2.39 K

(B) Meissner effect

In 1934, Walther Meissner and Robert
Ochsenfeld discovered that an external Walter Meissner
magnetic field is perfectly expelled from
the interior of a superconductor.

Bint = 0 perfect diamagnetism

Magnetic susceptibility M = -1
Bint H 0 ( H M ) 0
M M H H Bint = 0
M is the magnetization, and is the permeability
B/0 -M

Hc H Hc H

4
A Superconductor is NOT JUST a Perfect Conductor

For a normal conductor in an For a perfect conductor in an

applied magnetic field: applied magnetic field:

H H

For a superconductor in an
applied magnetic field:

A superconductor can actively push

out a magnetic field this
phenomenon is called the Meisner
effect.

Magnetic levitation
S

Magnet
N
N
S
Supercondutor Persistent
current

Superconductors have a negative susceptibility,

and acquire a magnetic polarization always
OPPOSITE to the applied magnetic field.
Therefore, a superconducting material repels any
magnet.

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What are the Different Types of Superconductors?
Superconductors cannot be penetrated by magnetic flux lines
(Meissner effect). This effect breaks down when the applied
magnetic field is too large. Superconductors can be divided into two
classes according to how this breakdown occurs.
((A)) Type
yp I superconductors
p
For a pure metal superconductor, magnetic field B is completely
excluded inside when H< Hc. The metal becomes a normal
conductor at H > Hc.
B/0 -M

Hc H Hc H

This behavior is characteristic of the type I superconductors

(soft superconductors).

Known type I Mat. Tc (K) Mat. Tc (K)

superconductors Be 0 Gd* 1.1
Rh 0 Al 1.2
W 0.015 Pa 1.4
Ir 0.1 Th 1.4
Lu 01
0.1 Re 14
1.4
Hf 0.1 Tl 2.39
Ru 0.5 In 3.408
Os 0.7 Sn 3.722
Mo 0.92 Hg 4.153
Zr 0.546 Ta 4.47
Cd
C 0.56
0 56 V 5.38
5 38
U 0.2 La 6.00
Ti 0.39 Pb 7.193
Zn 0.85 Tc 7.77
Ga 1.083 Nb 9.46

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(B) Type II superconductors
Some metallic alloys become superconducting at low temperatures,
but they show different behaviors in magnetic fields.
-M Superconducting region
Normal state cores

Superconducting The mixed state

Mixed Normal

Within this range, the

material is in a mixed state.

Materials with this behavior are called

type II superconductors. With in the
range Hc1 < H < Hc2, normal and
superconducting states coexist in this
type of superconductors.

Some type II superconductors

Type II superconductors (hard
superconductors) normally have much
higher critical fields and therefore could
carry much higher current densities while
remaining in the superconducting state

A comparison of the phase diagrams of

type I and type II superconductors

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(C) The Josephson effect and Josephson junction
Josephson predicted (1962) that a sandwich of S-I-S will show
remarkable properties when the insulator is sufficiently thin ~ 10.
Brian D. Josephson
superconductor insulator I
Critical current vs magnetic field

IJ
IJ
I

V
V

B (arbitrary unit)
Josephson effect.
A current flows through the thin insulator, without voltage drop, until a
critical
iti l currentt is
i reached.
h d Ab
Above th
the critical
iti l current,
t normall single
i l
electron tunneling is dominant. The magnitude of the critical current
is sensitively dependent on the magnetic field.

The setup is called a Josephson junction, and the current is referred to

as Josephson current.

What are the Theories for Superconductivity?

There are several theories for type I superconductivity,. BCS theory is
arguably the most successful one.
(A) The BCS theory
In 1957, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and
John Schrieffer, developed the Theories
of Superconductivity, known as the BCS
Theory. Bardeen Cooper Schrieffer

- Cooper realized that atomic lattice vibrations forced the electrons to

pair up into teams that could pass all of the obstacles which caused
resistance in the conductor. These teams of electrons are known as
Cooper pairs.

- Cooper and his colleagues knew that electrons which normally repel
one another must feel an overwhelming attraction in superconductors.

10
 There is a time-retarded effective attraction between the two electrons
in the lattice.

The forces exerted by the phonons overcome the electrons' natural

repulsion. The electron pairs are coherent with one another as they pass
through the conductor in unison.
BCS theory is based on:
- Mean field approximation and paring approximation.
- Ground state is the condensate of Cooper pairs

In BCS theory
- electrons close to the Fermi level form, via phonon interaction, a
cooper pair with zero total momentum, zero spin - a boson
- Cooper pairs are not restricted by the Pauli Exclusion Principle
(act like bosons). They can condense into the same energy level
- Similarly in Bose-Einstein condensation, a system of bosons
condense into a single
g state represented
p byy one wavefunction

Cooper Pairs Correlation lengths

e
e

Pairs are related by momentum p, Sn 230 nm

NOT the positions.
Al 1600
The best normal conductors (Ag, Au, Cu) Pb 83
best free-electrons Nb 38
no e- lattice interaction
not superconducting

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 http://gigaom.com/2010/10/06/superconducting-wire-powering-up-korean-smart-grid/

If a high critical temperature

superconductor is developed that has a
critical temperature that is higher than
HBCCO (133 K), more practical
applications will become feasible

Electrical power transmission through

superconducting materials and wire
o Low power loss
o Low voltage required for high current
o Utilizes less physical space

Computer signal transmission

o Low resistivity allows for computing
speed to increase greatly

Figure 21.1,2: Power lines

demonstrating the great
reduction of space needed by
utilizing superconducting wire
rather than standard cables.
Callister, W.D. 2012, 776-779.
Flukiger, R. Rev. Accel. Sci. Tech. 2012, 5, 1-23. http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/12/cost-and-benefits-of-2g-superconducting.html
 http://gigaom.com/2010/10/06/superconducting-wire-powering-up-korean-smart-grid/

Figure 22.1: Example of a superconducting cable. The liquid nitrogen coolant is part of
the cable in order to keep the superconductor wire below the critical temperature.
These cables can greatly reduce the physical space needed in our electrical
infrastructure.
Callister, W.D. 2012, 776-779.
Flukiger, R. Rev. Accel. Sci. Tech. 2012, 5, 1-23.
 Some applications are used today:
o Magnetic Resonance Imaging
o Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy

Future applications can benefit from

interesting magnetic properties displayed
by superconductors

Particle Accelerators
http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/educatio
Figure 23.1,2 (top/middle): MRI n/tutorials/magnetacademy/mri/fullart
Magnetic Levitation scanners currently utilize icle.html
o High-Speed Magnetic Levitation superconductors.
Trains for mass transport Figure 23.3 (bottom): Mag-Lev
train demonstrating the potential
o By utilizing levitation, friction between
of using superconductors in
the train and the track is eliminated mass-transport.
o This can allow trains to increase their
speed dramatically

Callister, W.D. 2012, 776-779.

Flukiger, R. Rev. Accel. Sci. Tech. 2012, 5, 1-23.
Patel, M.J. et. al. Nat. Confer. Rec. Trend. Engr. Tech.
2011.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/05feb_superconductor/ http://www.cis.rit.edu/class/schp730/lect/lect-17.htm