Name: Nischay

Roll Number: 19209

Experiment 6:
SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices)
Aim: To study the superconducting quantum intereference devices (SQUID) characterstics
for V-I and V-ϕ.
Apparatus: SQUID probe with the SQUID sensor, MS-EB03 electronic control box and
external ±12 Volts DC power supply, Nine-pin DB-9 M/M cable to connect the probe to the
electronics box, 1 L liquid nitrogen dewar

Theory:
A SQUID magnetometer incorporating
a high-temperature superconductor
(HTS) thin-film SQUID chip is used to
detect small magnetic signals if it is
coupled to the SQUID. The SQUID
probe contains a DC SQUID circuit
made from a thin film of YBCO, which
is a superconductor.
The DC SQUID is a ring of
superconductor containing two
Josephson junctions (J1 and J2) as in the
1 - DC SQUID containing two Josephson junctions
diagram. Josephson junctions are made
by sandwiching a thin layer of non-superconducting material between two layers of
superconducting material.
Josephson effect: If two superconductors are placed in proximity, with a barrier such as
non-superconductor (Josephson junction), some resistance-less current can still pass
without any voltage applied.
However, the current passing through a Joseph junction is less compared to a
superconductor; there is a critical limit to the amount of current passing at zero voltage,
known as critical current 𝐼 . Once voltage is increased (under no external magnetic field),
the current increases linearly with it, following Ohm’s law. This resistance is the Normal
Resistance 𝑅 of the SQUID sensor. As the sensor contains two Josephson junctions in
parallel, the resistance of each junction will be 2 ∙ 𝑅 assuming both are identical.
Cooper pair: In metals, especially at low temperature, electrons are paired due to electron-
phonon interaction over a range of hundreds of nanometers. These pairs are similar to
bosons in nature, they can condense to the ground state lower than the single electron
ground state. The wavefunction which describes a Cooper pair of electrons in a
superconductor is an exponential like the free particle wavefunction.
Magnetic flux: It is defined as the dot product of the surface area and the magnetic field
passing through that area:
𝛟= 𝑩 ∙𝑺
If one is dealing with a superconducting loop, the magnetic flux through that loop is
quantized, being an integral multiple of the magnetic flux quantum
ℎ
ϕ = ≈ 2.068 × 10 𝑊𝑏
2𝑒
Suppose an external magnetic field is applied to a superconducting ring (like the SQUID
circuit) such that the net magnetic flux is increased until it exceeds ϕ /2. Since the flux
enclosed by the superconducting loop must be an integer number of 𝜙 , instead of
screening the flux the SQUID now energetically prefers to increase it to 𝜙 . The current
now flows in the opposite direction, opposing the difference between the admitted
flux 𝜙 and the external field of just
over 𝜙 /2. The current decreases as
the external field is increased, is zero
when the flux is exactly 𝜙 , and again
reverses direction as the external
field is further increased. Thus, the
current changes direction
periodically, every time the flux
increases by additional half-integer
multiple of 𝜙 .
If the input current is more than 𝐼 ,
we observe a voltage, and hence a
characteristic V-I graph, where V
would be a function of the applied
current and the applied magnetic
field.

Note: The voltage levels across SQUID circuits are miniscule. Therefore, for appropriate
measurements, the SQUID electronics control box is equipped with an amplifier circuit with
a gain of 10000. Thus, actual voltage across the SQUID circuit is 1/104 of the observed
values on the oscilloscope on the Voltage monitor. Actual current will also be 1/104 of the
observed values.
Observations:

Horizontal sensitivity = 2.00 A

Vertical sensitivity = 2.00 V

2 - V-I curve

Horizontal sensitivity = 5.00 A

Vertical sensitivity = 0.2 V

3 V-ϕ curve
(1) The V-I curve has a flat region with zero voltage as expected, it’s the region where
superconducting occurs. The Cooper pairs tunnel through the Josephson junction to
produce current.
(2) Beyond the critical current, voltage rises suddenly due to breakdown of Cooper pairs.
The junctions follow Ohm’s Law beyond this point.
(3) The V-ϕ curve is periodic because of the quantization of flux through the SQUID
circuit.
Calculations:
(i) Critical current:
From the V-I curve, we observe breakdown at about (2,0). This corresponds to 𝐼 ≈
4.00𝐴 as horizontal sensitivity = 2.00 A. This is the net current passing through the electric
box. Accounting for the gain, the actual current passing through the SQUID circuit = 400 μ𝐴.
As the two Josephson junctions are placed parallelly, current through each junction will be
half of the total current. Therefore,
𝐼 =𝐼 /2 = 200 μ𝐴
(ii) Normal Resistance of the SQUID circuit:
The V-I curve’s slope beyond the breakdown point gives us the net resistance of the SQUID
circuit. The resistance for each Josephson junction will be twice of this value.
. . .
Therefore, 𝑅 = 2𝑐 ≈ 2 × = = 1.9 Ω
. .

(iii) Modulation Depth:

Modulation depth of voltage is the difference between the maximum and minimum
voltages in V-ϕ graph. Therefore,
Δ𝑉 ≈ 0.46 − (−0.46)𝑉 = 0.92𝑉
Due to a gain of 10000, actual modulation depth = 0.92/104 = 92 μ𝑉
(iv) β parameter: This parameter determines the maximum extent to which circulating
current in the SQUID can shield the applied flux, and is a factor in determining the
flux-to-voltage transfer ratio of the SQUID.
2𝐼 𝐿
β =
ϕ
Where L is the inductance of the SQUID:
𝐿 =𝐿 +𝐿 +𝐿
𝐿 = 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐷 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 = 58 𝑝𝐻
𝐿 = 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑜𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑄𝑈𝐼𝐷𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 = 7 𝑝𝐻
𝐿𝑗 = 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐽𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑗𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 8 𝑝𝐻

Therefore, L = 73 pH.
2 × 200 × 10 × 73 × 10
β =
2.07 × 10
𝛃𝑳 = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟏𝟎𝟔

It can also be calculated from the modulation depth:

 4𝐼 𝑅
𝛽 = −1
𝜋ΔV
4 × 200 × 10 × 1.9
β = −1
π × 92 × 10
𝛃𝑳 = 𝟒. 𝟐𝟓𝟖
Results:
(1) The critical current of the Josephson junctions is 200 μ𝐴.
(2) Normal resistance of each Josephson junction is 1.9 Ω.
(3) Modulation depth of voltage = 92 μ𝑉.
(4) Net inductance of SQUID circuit = 73 pH.
(5) β parameter calculated from
(i) Inductance: 14.106
(ii) Modulation Depth: 4.258.

Precautions:
(1) Connect the cable pins carefully.
(2) Handle liquid nitrogen with caution.
(3) Don’t keep any magnetic devices near the SQUID.