Course syllabus

MCC015 / FCC015

Superconducting devices: fundamentals and applications

LP4 VT24 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience - MC2

 

Contact details

Lecturers:

Examiner, Prof. Floriana Lombardi (floriana.lombardi@chalmers.se) tel. +46317723318

Assoc. Prof. Alexei Kalaboukhov (alexei.kalaboukhov@chalmers.se) tel. +46737084195

Prof. Dag Winkler (dag.winkler@chalmers.se) tel. +46317723474

Prof.  Per Delsing (per.delsing@chalmers.se) tel. +46317723317

Assoc. Prof.  Giovanna Tancredi (tancredi@chalmers.se ) tel. +46317721394 

Assoc. Prof. Thilo Bauch (thilo.bauch@chalmers.se ) tel. +46317723397

Prof. Sergey Kubatkin (sergey.kubatkin@chalmers.se) tel. +46317725475

Course purpose

Superconductivity is a fascinating phenomenon that allows us to observe quantum mechanical effects at the macroscopic scale. A tremendous importance of superconductivity for fundamental science can be seen from the fact that there are at least 12 Nobel laureates in physics, who obtained the
price for research related to superconductivity. Besides being of tremendous interest in themselves and vehicles for development key
concepts and methods in theoretical physics, superconductors have found important applications in modern society. Those range from high power
applications and strong superconducting magnets used in medicine, diagnostics and particle accelerators; to most sensitive quantum devices
capable of measuring about a trillionth part of the Earths magnetic field and a millionth part of the electron charge.

Schedule

Please refer to the detailed schedule for exact room for each lecture:

 

MCC015 Kusrprogram LP4_2024_v2.pdf

 

Course literature

T. Van Duzer, C. W. Turner, “Principles of Superconducting Devices and Circuits”, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall PTR 1999

 

Please note that the book is not available for purchase from Chalmers store. A limited number of books are available for loan from Chalmers library and teachers. An electronic copy of selected chapters will also be available and uploaded on Canvas.

Course design

The course consists of 15 lectures given by teachers listed above. 

There will be 5 home assignments. The deadline for each assignment is 1.5-2 weeks after release. 

In addition, there will be one laboratory work dedicated to measurements of weak magnetic signal originating from the human heart - so-called MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG).

 

Learning objectives and syllabus

The course is aiming to provide a basic knowledge of the theory of superconductors and the Josephson effect and their applications in cryoelectronics. It introduces a number of basic concepts and develops the necessary theory for modeling superconducting devices. 

After completion of the course the student should be able to:

    • Describe basic concepts of superconductivity underlying its use in devices and circuits
    • Describe and model behavior of Josephson junctions in magnetic field
    • Simulate the current-voltage characteristics of Josephson junctions using the RSJ model
    • Describe basic principles of Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs)
    • Perform measurements of magnetic fields using SQUIDs
    • Analyze the high-frequency properties of superconducting elements
    • Account for basic concepts of superconducting qubits and noise sources

Examination form

Total credits: 7.5

The written examination: 2024-05-29 14:00-18:00

The examination consists of 5 problems providing total number of 15 points.  Allowed material: Your choice of calculator and a handwritten A4 page (2 sides) with your own notes. You have to answer to all problems.

All home assignments and lab reports will be valued and can be used in the evaluation of the exam as follow (assuming 75% attendance):

Max 3 points if the result of the exam is < 4

Max 2 points if the result of the exam is > 7