Main article: Superconductivity
The interior of a bulk superconductor cannot be penetrated by a weak magnetic field, a phenomenon known as the Meissner effect. When the applied magnetic field becomes too large, superconductivity breaks down. Superconductors can be divided into two types according to how this breakdown occurs. In type-I superconductors, superconductivity is abruptly destroyed via a first order phase transition when the strength of the applied field rises above a critical value Hc. This type of superconductivity is normally exhibited by pure metals, e.g. aluminium, lead, and mercury. The only alloy known up to now which exhibits type I superconductivity is TaSi2.[1] The covalent superconductor SiC:B, silicon carbide heavily doped with boron, is also type-I.[2]
Depending on the demagnetization factor, one may obtain an intermediate state. This state, first described by Lev Landau, is a phase separation into macroscopic non-superconducting and superconducting domains forming a Husimi Q representation.[3]
This behavior is different from type-II superconductors which exhibit two critical magnetic fields. The first, lower critical field occurs when magnetic flux vortices penetrate the material but the material remains superconducting outside of these microscopic vortices. When the vortex density becomes too large, the entire material becomes non-superconducting; this corresponds to the second, higher critical field.
The ratio of the London penetration depth λ to the superconducting coherence length ξ determines whether a superconductor is type-I or type-II. Type-I superconductors are those with 0 < λ/ξ < 1/√2, and type-II superconductors are those with λ/ξ > 1/√2.[4]
References
U. Gottlieb; J. C. Lasjaunias; J. L. Tholence; O. Laborde; O. Thomas; R. Madar (1992). "Superconductivity in TaSi2 single crystals". Phys. Rev. B. 45 (9): 4803–4806. Bibcode:1992PhRvB..45.4803G. doi:10.1103/physrevb.45.4803. PMID 10002118.
Kriener, M; Muranaka, T; Kato, J; Ren, Z. A.; Akimitsu, J; Maeno, Y (2008). "Superconductivity in heavily boron-doped silicon carbide". Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 9 (4): 044205. arXiv:0810.0056. Bibcode:2008STAdM...9d4205K. doi:10.1088/1468-6996/9/4/044205. PMC 5099636. PMID 27878022.
Landau, L.D. (1984). Electrodynamics of Continuous Media. 8. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-2634-8.
Tinkham, M. (1996). Introduction to Superconductivity, Second Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0486435032.
See also
Type-II superconductor – Superconductor characterized by the formation of magnetic vortices in an applied magnetic field
Conventional superconductor – Materials that display superconductivity as described by BCS theory or its extensions
Covalent superconductor – Superconducting materials where the atoms are linked by covalent bonds
High-temperature superconductivity – Superconductive behavior at temperatures much higher than absolute zero
List of superconductors
Superconductor classification – Different types of superconductors
Technological applications of superconductivity
Type-1.5 superconductor – Multicomponent superconductors characterized by two or more coherence lengths
Unconventional superconductor – Superconductive materials not explained by existing established theories
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