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Speaker:
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Physics: Prof. dr. H. Hilgenkamp |
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Affiliation:
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University of Twente - TNW |
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Title:
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Experiments with fractional magnetic flux quanta |
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Date:
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19-04-2007 |
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Start:
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16.00 |
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Location:
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FWN-Building 5111.0080 |
Abstract
An intriguing effect occurs when high-T
c and low-T
c superconductors are connected with each other in certain geometries. Due to the difference in the symmetry properties of the superconducting states in these materials ( ‘d-wave’ versus ‘s-wave’ symmetry) a spontaneous current starts to flow. This current produces a magnetic flux equal to half of the well know flux-quantum Φ0 = h/2e.
We use this half-flux quantum effect in hybrid high-T
c / low-T
c structures for basic studies on the high-T
c cuprate superconductors [1] (see figure), as well as for the development of novel electronic devices [2]. In this colloquium I will introduce various experiments in both directions.
[1]: Kirtley et al., Nature Physics 2, 190 (2006).
[2]: Ortlepp et al., Science 312, 1495 (2006).
