20 Suerconductivity put there is also a decrease in magnetic en i e a er cath Bi pple Feld. By into the superconduc SY because of the vot te 4 8 material around Sonu? — aie x m2, (33) Ie add these two contributions to obtain | Som fag 3 BE ~ BAS je flusoid ; (34) | rg stable iff <0 ‘The threshold field for a stable fluxoid is at f = 0, | * ah, written for Bay . 4g HoJH.~€/A . (35) peshold field divides the region of positive surface energy from the re- Te He ive surface energy. #ecan combine (30) and (35) to obtain a relation for H,: TEA, ~ Dp (36) | can combine (30), (31), and (35) to obtain | (HaHa)? =H, , a | and H~ (WOH, = eH, - on} Single Particle Tunneling | Consider two metals separated by an insulator, as in Fig. 20. The insulator ~ ormally acts as a barrier to the flow of conduction electrons from one metal "tothe other. If the barrier is sufficiently thin (less than 10 or 20 A) there is a | __ Sigificant probability that an electron which impinges on the barrier will pass from one metal to the other: this is called tunneling. In many experiments the __ insulting layer is simply a thin oxide layer formed on one of two evaporated ‘etal films, as in Fig, 21. | When both metals are normal conductors, the current-voltage relation of e e emai or tunneling junction is ohmic at low voltages, with the aaa c= atonal to the applied voltage. Giaever (1960) Cats E ha xe © metals becomes superconducting the current-voltage ¢| ee | rom the straight line of Fig. 22a to the curve shown in Fig, 22b. ted by a thin layer of an PEIBRBEE To metals, A and B, separ insulator C.10 Superconductivity ) i) id) Preparation of an AVALO,/Sn sandwich. (a) Glass slide with indium contact, Ca i has been Spite ws {@) The aluminunn strip has been oxidized to form an Al,Os layer 10 to 20 A in thickness, @) ¢ filin has been deposited across the aluminum film, forming an AVAIO,/Sn sandwich. The exe, din contacts; two contacts are used for the current measuren,.. (After Giaever and Megerle.) a leads are connected to the i and two for the voltage measurement. WBE (2) Lincar current-voltage — |// J elation for junction of normal metals separated by oxide layer; (b) current- voltage relation with one metal normal Mee Vologe and the other metal superconducting. (a Cament f Ave @ b) Voltage Fi igure 23a contrasts the electron density of orbitals in the s superconduc! with i that in the normal metal. In the superconductor there is an enersy 2 centered at the Fey m Th h meee 5 Certesponds to the break-up of a pair of electrons 3 state, with the formation of two electrons, or an elect?" as =10 Superconductivity 291 1, in the normal state. 1 current starts wh f du en eV = A. At fini remperatures there is a small current flow even at low voltages, bee: es Af electrons i the superconductor that are thermally excited pate y s the enerey BP Josephson superconductor -Tunnelin, Under suitable conditions we observe remarkable effects associated with the tunneling of superconducting electron pairs from a superconductor through a layer of an insulator into another superconductor. Such a junction is called a weak link. The effects of pair tunneling include: De Josephson effect. A de current flows across the junction in the ab- sence of any electric or magnetic field Ac Josephson effect. A de voltage applied across the junction causes rf current oscillations across the junction. This effect has been utilized in a precision determination of the value of f/e. Further, an rf voltage applied with the de voltage can then cause a de current across the junction. Macroscopic long-range quantum interference. A de magnetic field applied through a superconducting circuit containing two junctions causes the maximum supercurrent to show interference effects as a function of magnetic field intensity. This effect can be utilized in sensitive magnetometers. De Josephson Effect Our discussion of Josephson junction phenomena follows the discussion of flux quantization. Let yf, be the probability amplitude of electron pairs on one side of a junction, and let y be the amplitude on the other side. For simplicity, let both superconductors be identical. For the present we suppose that they are both at zero potential. . The time-dependent Schrodinger equation ihay/at = Hy applied to the two amplitudes gives 3 a athe (38) it = THe : ine ATI ( ir coupling or transfer interac- a rate or frequency. It is a into the region 1. If Here AT represents the effect of the electron-pai tion across the insulator; T has the dimensions of Measure of the leakage of yy into the region 2, and of Ys the insulator is very thick, T is zero and there is no Patt tunneling Let dh = n}? e! and yp = nie! Then (39) ny jy OO = -iT le snl + the gg iTa 06; My eae = iT . a -2 gf = ee (49) We multiply (39) by n}2@7'* to obtain, with 6 = 0, — 4, iT inyng)e* . (ay We multiply (40) by ni? e"\* to obtain an A Pe 2 : (49) Now equate the real and imaginary parts of (41) and similarly of (49). a an, . amy _ ottnyng) sind 3 P= ~2Tinins)"*sind ; 7 0 ta 5B _ ‘n,\2 it 5 = TT (a) 0088 en Ifn, = nz as for identical superconductors 1 and 2, we have from (44) that 40, _ 38; a [ Rimi RRO i From (43) we see that a i (46) “mt The current flow from (1) to (2) is proportional to dn/dt or, the same thing, —dn,/at. We therefore conclude from (43) that the current J of super- conductor pairs across the junction depends on the phase difference 6 as J = Josin = J sin (8, — ;) . a where Jy is proportional to the transfer interaction T. The current Jo is the maximum zero-voltage current that can be passed by the junction. With 10 applied voltage a de current will flow across the junction (Fig. 24), with a value between Jy and ~Jy according to the value of the phase difference 8 ~ This is the de Josephson effect. Ac Josephson Effect Let a de voltage V be applied across the junction. We can do this becaus° the junction is an insulator. An electron pair experiences a potential ene"® difference gV on passing across the junction, where q = —2e. We can sah & pair on one side is at potential energy —eV and a pair on the other side is eV. The equations of motion that replace (38) are : He Yh Ot = RT eV, : ih aug /at = ATW, + eV *Voltage Current-voltage characte Junetion. De currents flow under zey 0 @ critical current i: this is the de Josephson effect. At voltages above V, the junction has a finite resistance, but the current hasan oscillatory component of frequency © = 2eVih: this isthe ac Josephson effect ristic of a Josephson 10 applied voltage uy We proceed as above to find in place of (41) the equation 08, ae 1 + in SP = eV ~ Tiny)! e (49) ‘This equation breaks up into the real part On,/dt = 2T(ny nz) sind , (50) exactly as without the voltage V, and the imaginary part sn 90; /at = (eV/h) — T(ng/n;) cos 6 , ‘which differs from (44) by the term eV/i. Further, by extension of (42), - (62) 3202 4 in, 202 = 4 evngh-—iTinyny)e* , Se Whence os an, /at = —2T(ny np)" sind : 7 80,/at = —(eV/A) — Tiny/nz)"? cos 6 - From (51) and (54) with ny = np, we have vn Ss (05 — 0,)/at = 35/at = 2 oo We see the juncti Itage across by integration of (55) that bapate as (56) Phase of the probability amplitu 8(t) = 6(0) — (2eVe) - ative294 10 Superconduct ‘The superconducting current is given by (47) with (56) for the phase J = Josin [5(0) ~ (2eV/A)] « ent oscillates with frequency w= 2Vih The curr (53) cephson effect. A de voltage of 1 AV produces a fg (58) says that a photon of energy fig ie, V is Jectron pair crosses the barrier. By m This is the ac Jo: J of 483.6 MHz. The relation ‘emitted or absorbed when an elects the voltage and the frequency it is poss! of e/h. Macroscopic Quantum Interference We saw in (24) and (26) that the phase difference 8) — 8, around a closed ich encompasses a total magnetic flux ® is given by 0, — 0; = (2e/hc)® . a ; east ble to obtain a very precise = ne cirenit whi The flux is the sum of that due to external fields and that due to currents in the circuit itself. We consider two Josephson junctions in parallel, as in Fig. 25. No voltage is applied. Let the phase difference between points 1 and 2 taken on a path through junction a be 6,. When taken on a path through junction b, the phase difference is 5,, In the absence of a magnetic field these two phases must be equal. Now let the flux ® pass through tl with a straight solenoid normal to the plane of the paper and lying inside the circuit. By (59), 5, — 6, = (2e/fic)®, or he interior of the circuit. We do this =h+£e; (60) B= teh; 8, The total current is the sum of J, and J,. The current through each june tion is of the form (47), so that Jnsulator 4 hae | rae Jeorat 75> The arrangement for experi \= | ‘macroscopic quantum i r experiment on dD quantum interference. A magnetic \ rsubeor fi "w= ® passes through the interior of the loop,p09 300-200-1000 F00apa Magnetic ficld (milligauss) 400 500 30) spevimental tre Of Je VrSUS magnetic field showing inter rojunions A and B. The fld periodicity is 3.5 and or A ond zeton opcate maxinnum. currents are L mA (A) and 05 ma (B) The AEA a0 Bees pron width 0.5 mm for both cases. The zero offset of y Separation is s due t im ster RC. Jalevie, J. Lambe, JE. Mereereas, and A. very sa ts*ousd mas oo : ~infin( +go)+ sin( 3, - z)| = 2) sind co ‘he current varies with ® and has maxima when eP/he = sr >» 8=integer . (61) | The periodicity of the current is shown in Fig. 26. The short period varia- ‘onis produced by interference from the two junctions, as predicted by (61). The longer period variation is a diffraction effect and arises from the finite | | nensions of each junction—this causes to depend on the particular path dlintegration (Problem 8). 4UCH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS "igh T. or HTS denotes superconductivity in materials, chiefly copper | ES with high transition temperatures, accompanied by high erticaleur- | [iiind magnetic fields. By 1988 the long-standing 28 K ceiling of T. in | sulle compounds had been elevated to 125 K in bulk superconducting ee ‘these passed the standard tests for superconductivity—the Mele flyer Josephson effect, persistent currents of long ee a "Ode resistivity, Memorable steps in the advance include: BaPby sBig 9:05 7.=12kK (REO! 1.s5Bap ;3CuO, 36K a 2Cu,0, gok (XB a TBa,Ca,Cuj0ig 120K = (TB BosT lp BazCa,CusOs 35 138K(In CGS Units) tivity 10 Superconduct! = SUMMARY Juctor © hibits infinite conductivity, conductor en f metal in the superconducting state exhi of scien of meti " : | # A bulk speci ne magnetic induction B ‘ 0. u S the Meigs anetism, W jeld will penetrate the surface of the a " an magnetic field will penctrate the surface of the Specing The external magi stration dey ea ii determined by the penetration depth A. adistance srconductors, [and II. In a bulk 5 © There are two ie ' ee state is destroyed and i Dorm, Pa a + cation of an external magnetic field in exCeS5 Of aceite” eae has two etal elds, Hay < H < yt ae in the range between Ha aanied the — enerEy densi the pure superconducting state is H2/87r in both type I an Supercond, . cr A supe . 32 ecimen of « In the superconducting state an energy gap, E, ~ 4ksT., separates super ducting electrons below from normal electrons above the gap. The Bap ide tected in experiments on heat capacity, infrared absorption, and tunneling * Three important lengths enter the theory of superconductivity; the Londn, penetration depth A,; the intrinsic coherence length &; and the norms electron mean free path £. p * The London equation c 4nAz or curlj= leads to the Meissner effect through the penetration equation V°B = BX, where Ay, ~ (me*/4zme?)"” is the London penetration depth. * In the London equation A or B should be a weighted average over the « herence length €. The intrinsic coherence length ) = 2hv,/nE, * The BCS theory accounts for a superconducting state formed from pais“ electrons kT and ~kl. These pairs act as bosons. elated bY * /pe II superconductors have € < A. The critical fields are ret’ or xis de Ha = (G/A)H, and Hyp ~ (A /£)H,. The Ginzburg-Landan paramete! ® fined as A/é, PROBLEMS: fa it . ide up 1. Resistivity of a superconducting ring. Consider a ring of radius T ma wire of radi : los ¥ of a superconducting material with a curvent lo eee fon current is measured by a detector that is sensitive to cha 2 , GL10-7A and no change in current 2 observed for two years. What can the resistivity p ofthe matenal Siven T= Sem, y = Imm and Ip = 1004" say?