TERM PAPER

TOPIC
HARD & SOFT SUPER CONDUCTORS

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED

TO:

ZAHID SAREER MISS SUMAN

RANI

ROLL NO:33 Deptt. Of

Physics

SECTION:256

Normal electronic conductors have electrical resistance to the motion of electrons whenever a
current flows through the material. A voltage must be applied in order to replace this energy
lost as heat. A superconductor, however, has no resistance at all. Many metals, but not all,
show electrical resistance at ordinary room temperatures but turn superconductive when
refrigerated near to absolute zero.
This behaviour of superconductors is exciting today for a variety of commercial applications
and in research because the limits of superconductors are a long way from being reached.

. In 1911 superconductivity was first observed in mercury by Dutch physicist

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes of Leiden University (shown above). When he cooled it to the
temperature of liquid helium, 4 degrees Kelvin (-452F, -269C), its resistance suddenly
disappeared. The Kelvin scale represents an "absolute" scale of temperature. Thus, it
was necessary for Onnes to come within 4 degrees of the coldest temperature that is
theoretically attainable to witness the phenomenon of superconductivity. Later, in 1913,
he won a Nobel Prize in physics for his research in this area.

Resistance is classically due to collisions of free electrons with thermally

displaced ions with impurities and defects in the metal. This approach can not
explain superconductivity as electrons always suffer some collisions so resistance
can never be zero. This is put to good use in light bulbs.

The best normal conductors have weak interactions between the electrons and the lattice
which is why they are good conductors, but this prevents them from becoming
superconductors.

The only way to describe superconductors is to use quantum mechanics. The model used is
the BSC theory (named after the 3 men who derived it, Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer),
which was first suggested in 1957[4]. It states that lattice vibrations play an imp

Type 1 and Type 2 Superconductors

The first superconductors were of little use in a practical sense, because they could not carry
a significant amount of current. These are known as type 1 or “soft” superconductors [10]. They
require the coldest temperatures (to slow down molecular vibrations sufficiently to allow
unimpeded electron flow in accordance with BCS Theory) to become superconductive and
exhibit a very sharp transition to a superconducting state and “perfect” diamagnetism.
Diagram 6: Type 1 superconductivity showing a sharp transition
For a type 1 superconductor the critical current is a consequence of the critical magnetic field,
Hc[11]. Hc is low in type 1 superconductors along with their critical current densities (important
in wire manufacturing) and therefore they have been of little interest to magnet builders or
the electric utilities[12].
Type 2 or “hard” superconductors are comprised of metallic compounds and alloys such as
“perovskites” (metal oxide ceramics). They achieve higher Tc than type 1 by a mechanism
that is still unclear[13]. They differ from type 1 in that their transition from a normal to a
superconducting state is gradual across a region of “mixed state” or vortex behaviour. They
admit the magnetic field into their interiors while still remaining superconducting. It has been
these type 2 superconductors that contemporary scientific and commercial superconducting
magnets are wound.
States of Superconductors
In both types of superconductors the electrons combine in pairs under the critical temperature
to form macroscopic material waves.
In type 1, the conventional metals and metalloids, the electrons interact with the lattice
vibration, whereby both electrons in the Cooper Pair have S= 0 and L=0 (quantum numbers)
and can be described by an s-wave function. The wave-function, therefore has the same
characteristics along every axis of the lattice.
In type 2 superconductors, the unconventional ceramic compounds, the electron pair
processes for an S=0 state; L= 0, 2h, 4h etc. due to quantum mechanic restrictions. The
compound always takes on the lowest possible energy and therefore, in most superconductors
the (S=0, L=0) state occurs.
7 Paul Brown, Heidelberg University, 2004
High Temperature Superconductors (HTS)
For over 75 years superconductivity remained a low temperature phenomenon, and it was
theoretically shown and widely believed that high temperature Superconductivity was
impossible, that the highest transition temperature, or critical temperature (Tc), could not go
above 30K (according to BCS theory). This changed in 1986, when J.G.Bednorz and
K.A.Müller discovered the barium-doped structures of LaCuO4[14], which broke the 30K limit.
With the 30K barrier broken the race was on to find still higher transition temperatures. The
first was via strontium substitution: La2-xSrxCuO4 giving a Tc of 38K[15]. It was also found
that under extreme pressure the critical temperature could be increased to 50K[16].
The next step was to simulate pressure via chemical substitution. This was done by adding
yttrium to the perovskite structure of BaCuO3. Surprisingly the compound (YBa2Cu3O7) went
superconducting at 92K[17].
This was important as it put superconductivity in the range of liquid nitrogen and so hundreds
of labs joined the race.
It was found that nearly any of the rare earth metals could be substituted for yttrium without
any significant change to the transition temperature[18].
The structure of the compound is that of a sandwich with planes of copper oxide in the centre,
where the superconducting current flows. The other elements act only as spacers.
The record Tc today is owned by HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8, which by room pressure has a Tc of 135K
and under pressure can reach 164K[19]. One of today’s theories predicts an upper limit of
200K for superconductivity, while others predict no limit.
All of these HTSs were brittle ceramic compounds. This is surprising as ceramics are
normally insulators. The theory behind this is still not fully understood[20]. This brittleness
causes drawbacks in practical applications, such as drawing out wires. Another drawback is
the magnetic properties of these materials.
Most HTSs are produced form metastable materials; this means that the thermodynamically
stabile reactants are forced into forming the compound either by high pressure and
temperature or by doping. This method of synthesis, however, does not represent in any way
an absolute criterion for HTS synthesis.
Type II superconductors are, for the most part, comprised of metallic compounds and
alloys. This class of superconductors generally has a much higher critical temperature than
those in Type I. They achieve a higher critical temperature than Type 1 superconductors by a
mechanism that is still not completely understood. It is believed that it relates to the planar
layering within the crystalline structure. The highest critical temperature reached is currently
138 K. Debates still arise as to whether or not an upper limit exists for a critical temperature
to be found.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

1)TITLE:Hard superconductivity of a soft metal in the

quantum regime
MUSTAFA M. ÖZER1, JAMES R. THOMPSON1,2 AND HANNO H. WEITERING

Submitted on:27 january 2006

Superconductivity is inevitably suppressed in reduced dimensionality. The thin
superconducting wires or films can be before they lose their
superconducting properties have important technological ramifications and go to the
heart of understanding coherence and robustness of the superconducting state in
quantum-confined geometries. Here, we exploit quantum confinement of itinerant
electrons in a soft metal to stabilize superconductors with lateral dimensions of the
order of a few millimeters and vertical dimensions of only a few atomic layers10.These
extremely thin superconductors show no indication of defect- or fluctuationdriven
suppression of superconductivity and sustain supercurrents of up to 10% of
the depairing current density. The extreme hardness of the critical state is attributed
to quantum trapping of vortices. This study paints a conceptually appealing, elegant
picture of a model nanoscale superconductor with calculable critical state properties.
It indicates the intriguing possibility of exploiting robust superconductivity at the
nanoscale.

2)Title: Nonlinear diffusion in hard and soft

superconductors

Authors: Gilchrist, John; van der Beek, C. J.

Publication 09/1994
Date:

Bibliographic 1994PhyC..231..147G
Code:
We discuss the diffusion of magnetic flux in a field-cooled (``hard'')
superconducting slab in a creep regime in which E ~ |J|σ J. Bryksin and
Dorogovtsev recently discussed flux diffusion in a pinningless (``soft'')
superconductor in which E ~ |B|J. This problem is closely related to the
flux-creep one with σ=1, and provides additional insight into the possible
types of behaviour. We list a series of possible long-term asymptotic
solutions of a scaling form, which are either analytically exact or
accurately calculated. We check numerically that the relevant long-term
solution is approached after various initial conditions. Amongst other
conclusions we find S=d(In|M|)/d(Int)-->-1/σ or -1/2σ, after application and
removal of an additional field, aJump to main content

3)Limited flux jumps in hard superconductors

R G Mints and A L Rakhmanov
Inst. of High Temperatures, Moscow, USSR

Limited flux jumps in superconductors are investigated under the

conditions when the heating of the sample is not too high. The surface
temperature rise, electric field and magnetic flux change associated with
the instability development are calculated. The theory is compared with
experiments, and a satisfactory agreement is found.

Print publication: Issue 12 (14 December 1983)

4)Magnetic instabilities in hard superconductors

R G Mints and Aleksandr L Rakhmanov

The magnetic instabilities in hard and combined Type II

superconductors in detail give the criteria for stability of the critical state
with respect to magnetic-flux jump.Then the total effect of magnetic and
thermal diffusion, as well as that of the structure of a combined
superconductor, on the magnetic-field value for a flux jump. The
theoretical results will be compared with the existing experimental data.

Print publication: Issue 3 (1977)

Superposition of currents in hard superconductors placed into

crossed AC and DC magnetic fields

FISHER L. M. (1) ; KALINOV A. V. (1) ; VOLOSHIN I. F. (1) ;

BALTAGA I. V. ; IL'ENKO K. V. ; YAMPOL'SKII V. A. ;

Publishing year:1996
The superposition of currents in YBCO melt-textured samples
placed into crossed ac and dc magnetic fields is predicted and
observed. This superposition is a direct consequence of the
critical state model. The dc magnetic field distribution is shown to
become uniform wherever the ac field has penetrated. Owing to
this nonlinear process, the area of the dc magnetization loop
diminishes and eventually disappears completely with an increase
of the ac field magnitude. This means that under the action of the
external ac field, the static magnetic properties of hard
superconductors change and tend to the well known properties of
soft ones.

SUMMARY:

Superconductors conduct electricity with little or no resistance. Organic

superconductors contain carbon and are less dense than their ceramic or
metallic counterparts; they also offer unusual potential for fine-tuning of
electrical properties. Argonne National Laboratory long has carried out the
major U.S. effort to synthesize and identify organic superconductors.
Nearly 100 new superconductors of this type have been produced, with
critical temperatures (at which a superconductor loses all electrical
resistance) as high as -260 degrees C, or -434 degrees F. Recently, the
first superconductor composed entirely of organic components (with no
metal atoms) was synthesized, with a transition temperature in this
range. Although this remains far lower than the highest known transition
temperature for ceramics, scientists still expect that a high-temperature
organic superconductor may be possible, such that liquid nitrogen (at
-196 degrees C, or -321 degrees F) could be used as the coolant instead
of the more costly liquid helium, thus making practical applications more
feasible. The new compound has a two-dimensional, layered structure,
which may provide significant insight into the nature of superconductivity.

These advances will help scientists develop a theory of how organic

superconductors work and contribute to the design of new materials with
higher transition temperatures. The all-organic material is ideal for
studies of magnetic and charge transport properties because there is no
possibility of contamination from metallic impurities.

APPLICATIONS:

Superconductivity already has important applications, such as medical

diagnostic equipment, and many more uses are possible if transition
temperatures are high enough. The availability of purely organic
superconductors greatly expands the possibilities, especially for
applications in which weight is a factor

Superconducting high speed train system comprising a rail

including at least one elongated hard superconducting member disposed
horizontally along the running direction of the train and having a hollow or
gap portion extending in the elongated direction, and a train body
including a superconducting magnet for generating a magnetic field
perpendicular to the hard superconducting member, thereby floating the
body from the rail by the magnetic force acting between the
superconducting magnet and the hard superconducting member.

LIMITATIONS:
Limitations on performance of Superconductor oversampling ADCs
For the development and optimization of superconductor oversampling
modulators, We highlight the importance of specially engineered and
parasitic components of the feedback loop. In particular, LR circuits
operating as low-pass filters are capable of providing a noticeable SNR
improvement and dramatically reducing the dynamic range requirements
for used SFQ comparators. On the other hand, the feedback loop delay
and time-jitter in timing circuits are able to spoil the potentially extremely
high performance of superconductor oversampling ADCs. We also
developed a simple formula describing time-jitter in superconductor

BIBLOGRAPHY:

1) arXiv:cond-
: mat/0601641v1

2)www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0022-3727/16/12/026

3)http://www.freepatentsonline.com

4)www.sciencedirect.com/science

5)http://physics.aps.org/articles

6) http:/www.msd.anl.go