High Temperature Superconductors

TeachSpin Lab Manuals:

Teachspin - Cryostat Manual

Teachspin Electrical Transport Manual

Teachspin Superconductivity Manual

Link to MXP Procedures for Using Teachspin Dewar - 

READ THIS THOUGHRALLY BEFORE TURING ANYTHING ON!

Tips, Tricks, Time Management

• Troubleshooting vacuum pump errors:
  https://www.pfeiffer-vacuum.com/api/empolis/resource/environment/project1_p/documents/pfeifferSharepointProd/1548-pt0265ben_f.pdf

• It takes about an hour and a half for the vacuum to get to e-5 hPa on a humid day, and about 30 minutes if it was left from the night before and not re-pressurized

• It takes about an hour and three liters (three ¾ full canisters) to get the dewar to LN2 temperatures. The reason it takes three canisters is because of the boil off that happens after the first two canisters.

• Do not use the DAQ for vastly different voltage measurements. For example, if three channels have measurements on the order of 5 V, and another channel has a sensitive measurement of 15 mV, the higher voltage will bleed into the low voltage and mess up the data. It is best to measure them separately. Make sure DAQ is set to Ground Source to match the current input.

• How to pour LN2 - First read LN2 safety SOP. Use your non-pouring hand as a lever for better aim and control.

What to do if you dropped a Belleville washer - grab a damp paper towel and rub it between your fingers to get them slightly damp and create heat. Then press down on the washer and it should stick to your fingers on the way up. You can also try and use your nails but I found that difficult for the ones curled towards the floor. 

Link To Sample Data 

Resources:

• Bardeen et al., 1957

  • Introduces Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) Theory

  • Comprehensive low-temp superconductivity background

  • https://journals.aps.org/pr/pdf/10.1103/PhysRev.108.1175

• Howe, 2014

  • Comprehensive background for YBCO superconductor

  • https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/346/

• Cooper, 1956

  • Introduction to electron pairs / Cooper pairs

  • https://journals.aps.org/pr/pdf/10.1103/PhysRev.104.1189

• Trabelsi et al. 2022

  • Comprehensive background and images of superconductivity/ Meissner effect (Specifically Chapter 1)

  • https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-1211-5

• Fröhlich, 1950

  • Energy transfer; how energy gap above Fermi energy is created in superconductors in a phonon

  • https://www.w2agz.com/Library/Classic%20Papers%20in%20Superconductivity/Froehlich,%20PR%2079,%20845%20(1950).pdf

• Maxwell, 1950; Reynolds et al. 1950

  • Discusses how in low-temperature superconductivity, the critical temperature depends on isotopic mass

  • Maxwell

  • Reynolds et al.

• Attard, 2025

  • Background on high-temperature superconductors and how they differ from low-temperature superconductors (Chapter 6)

  • Check “Resources” folder for textbook pdf

• Bednorz and Moller 1986, Wu et al. 1987

  • Origin of cuprates; the first high-temperature superconductors

  • Bednorz and Muller

  • Wu et al. 1987

• Mann, 2011

  • Article overview of proposed high-temperature superconductivity theories, such as Anderson, 1987 and Bickers et al., 1987

  • https://www.nature.com/articles/475280a

• Zhou et al., 2021

  • A compilation of the different contributions of various institutions in how they are attempting to explain high-temperature superconductivity.

  • https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1808294

• Cava et al., 1990

  • Experiments in neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements of YBCO

  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/092145349090376P?via%3Dihub

• Maeda et al., 1988

  • Discovery of BSCCO, a superconductor cuprate with no rare earth elements

  • https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.27.L209

Manual information written by Katrine Kompanets

--page edited by Tracy Chmiel --Jan 2026