| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R55955/01 |
| Title: |
Influence of Electron Interference on Superconductivity: Mesoscopic Fluctuations of the Critical Field in Disordered Superconductors |
| Principal Investigator: |
Grigorieva, Professor I |
| Other Investigators: |
|
| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
|
| Project Partners: |
|
| Department: |
Physics & Astronomy |
| Organisation: |
Victoria University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
14 January 2002 |
Ends: |
13 July 2003 |
Value (£): |
62,065
|
| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
|
|
| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
|
| Related Grants: |
|
| Panel History: |
|
|
Summary on Grant Application Form |
|
Electron interference influences electrical properties of disordered metals and is well known to give rise to such quantum effects as universal conductance fluctuations and weak localisation. Interference phenomena have been studied intensively during the last two decades in many metal and semiconducting systems. In superconductors, too, interference of normal electrons may influence the formation of superconducting charge carriers, Cooper pairs. In the vicinity of the norm al-superconducting transition, this should lead to the formation of superconducting droplets randomly distributed within a normal-metal matrix. If the sample size becomes comparable to the size of superconducting droplets, the sample can be either superconducting or normal, depending on the particular distribution of impurities inside. Such fluctuations between the normal and superconducting states were predicted several years ago but, despite significant interest and a number of experimental attempts, have not been observed so far. The observation requires strongly disordered superconductors with high normal-state resistivity and, at the same time, the size of the order of the coherence length, the latter becoming increasingly shorter with increasing resistivity. We have successeded in fabricating short mesoscopic (50 nm) wires from a very highresistivity (100 Ohm/C7) superconductor (amorphous MoGe) but could not investigate them due to the recent change of affiliation. Our structures present one of the best possible systems for studying electron interference efffects in superconductivity and we hope to observe many new phenomena.
|
|
Key Findings |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Potential use in non-academic contexts |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Impacts |
|
| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
|
| Date Materialised |
|
|
|
|
Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
| Project URL: |
|
| Further Information: |
|
| Organisation Website: |
|