In: Physics
Tin (Sn) metal is a superconductor with a transition temperature of 3.7 K. Its properties are well described by the BCS theory.
a. What is the zero temperature energy gap (in eV, not J) of Sn?
b. The energy gap is the minimum energy required to break apart the Cooper pairs in a superconductor. If the breaking is done by photons what is the longest wavelength photons that can break the pairs? What is the frequency of those photons? 1
c. Look up charts of the electromagnetic spectrum and say in what region of the spectrum are these photons.
d. Suppose I raise the temperature to 3.3 K. What is the gap and corresponding pairbreaking wavelength at this temperature?
e. If I make a Josephson junction (an insulating) barrier two pieces of tin, I can apply a voltage to the junction and observe an alternating-frequency (ac) current. Suppose the voltage is 512 μV. What would be the frequency of the current?
f. Speculate on whether I could apply a voltage of 10 mV to the junction and observe an ac current.