Department of Physics, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
PH40071 Superconductivity & magnetism |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Masters |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX100 |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take PH10006 and (take PH20013 or take PH20060) and (take PH20017 or take PH20063) |
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Aims: The aim of this unit is to explain the basic properties of superconductivity and magnetism, and illustrate contemporary applications of these phenomena.
Learning Outcomes: After taking this unit the student should be able to: * describe the basic properties of superconductors; * apply fundamental knowledge of superconductors to applications of superconductivity in technology and the research laboratory; * demonstrate a basic understanding of the origin and types of magnetic order; * describe and explain the origins of magnetic microstructure; * explain the magnetisation process and hysteresis; * describe magneto-optical effects and how magnetism impacts upon transport properties; * make quantitative estimates of the parameters that govern superconductivity and magnetism. Skills: Numeracy T/F A, Problem Solving T/F A. Content: Superconductivity (12 lectures): basic phenomenology: critical temperature, zero resistance, critical magnetic field, Meissner effect, penetration depth, coherence length, superfluidity. Two fluid model. Ginsburg-Landau theory. Microscopic theory, Cooper pairs, electron phonon interaction, isotope effect, BCS model and the energy gap. Type I and type II superconductors, vortex states. Applications of type II materials. Tunnelling in superconductors, the Josephson effect, SQUIDS. High Tc superconductivity. Other non-conventional superconductors. Magnetism (12 lectures): Microscopic origins of magnetism; magnetic ordering: para-, ferro-, anti-ferro and ferri- magnetism; itinerant magnetism; the exchange interaction; Heisenberg model; demagnetising fields and crystalline anisotropy; domains and magnetic microstructure; M-H hysteresis curves, coercivity, soft and hard magnetic materials; dynamic effects (ferromagnetic resonance, spin waves); thin film magnetism; magneto-optical phenomena: Kerr effect and applications; magnetoelectronics and spintronics: spin valves, GMR, applications. Contemporary applications of magnetism. |