Scuola di Scienze della Natura

TEACHING OBJECTIVES:

After having completed the course, the student will have skills in:
- Describing the fundamental properties of various classes of superconducting materials and their respective fields of application.
- Describing the operation principles of a Josephson junction and its possible applications.
- Evaluating and solving experimental issues in the electrical characterization of devices at low-temperature.
REMOTE TEACHING: The objectives of the course are unchanged

EXPECTED LEARNING RESULTS:

- Basic knowledge of the properties of superconducting materials.
- Basic knowledge of the working principles of the devices presented in the course.
- Basic skills in measuring, organizing, analyzing, presenting and discussing experimental data.
REMOTE TEACHING: The expected learning results of the course are unchanged

COURSE PROGRAMME:

-Phenomenology of superconductivity:
Experimental variables, themodynamics of the superconducting transition, type I and type II superconductivity.
Structure and dynamics of vortexes, pinning.
London equations.
- Microscopic origin of superconductivity: the phonon-mediated attractive interaction.
- Macroscopic quantum model and magnetic flux quantization.
- Josephson effect:
Governing equations and its different versions.
RCSJ model and its mechanical analogue.
Operation principle of the SQUID.
- Different kinds of superconducting materials:
low, medium and high-Tc.
Orders of magnitude of their basic quantities.
Synthesis techniques and applications.
- Thermodynamics of normal and superconducting materials.
- Ginzburg-Landau theory for the superconducting transition:
The coherence length.
Origin of the difference between type I and type II supercondutors.
- Practical classes:
Measurement of the I-V characteristics of a YBCO or BSCCO superconductor.
Measurement of the mean free path and of the ionic radius of a normal metal.
REMOTE TEACHING: The program of the course is unchanged

TEACHING MODE:

The course is organized as follows:
5 ECTS points of frontal lectures ( 5*8 = 40 hours; elective attendance)
1 ECTS point of laboratory practicals (12 hours, mandatory attendance for at least 70% of the time)
REMOTE TEACHING: In concurrence with the COVID-19 emergency situation, and in compliance with the relevant dispositions of the Ministry and of the University, the course is offered in remote teaching mode for the whole period in which in the University structures will be closed to public access. The remote teching will be delivered with streaming videos on Webex platform in concurrence of the dates and times of the original calendar of the course (compatibly with possible technical problems). Subsequently, the recorded videos will be downloadable from the moodle/e-learning page of the course.

EXAMINATIONS:

The exam will consist in oral questions in which the following aspects will be evaluated:
- understanding of the contents of the frontal lectures;
- contents of the reports of the supporting laboratory activities.
REMOTE EXAMS: in concurrence with the COVID-19 emergency situation, and in compliance with the rectoral decree rep. 1097/2020 of 20/03/2020, the exams will be organized with the above-described modalities, by adopting the Webex tele-conference platform. In particular, following a consolidated procedure, each evaluation commission will be composed by at least two teachers, and at least one student will participate as witness.

SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES:

Measurement of the I-V characteristics of the YBCO or BSCCO superconductor, measurement of the mean free path and of the ionic radius for a normal metal
REMOTE PRACTICAL CLASSES: In concurrence with the COVID-19 emergency situation, and in compliance with the relevant dispositions of the Ministry and of the University, the laboratory parts of the course will be delivered in remote mode. The modalities of this alternative teaching offer are currently being developed by the teachers, who will promptly update the students as soon as they are ready for fruition.