SQUIDs, the Josephson Effects and Superconducting Electronics

The aim of this book is to provide an account of the development of superconducting electronics, stressing the fundamental principles on which devices and their applictions are based. It is also intended to give practical help and guidance to those who wish to use superconducting devices. The book begins with an introduction to the basic properties of superconductivity, with emphasis on the macroscopic quantum aspects of the topic. The text follows the theory of Ginzburg and Landau, which identifies a complex order parameter with the macroscopic properties of superconductivity, providing a development of theory towards the device descriptions which follow in later chapters. Both flux quantization and the Josephson effects are derived from some basic assumptions of the Ginzburg-Landau theory. The book then deals with the Josephson effect, including applications such as a quantum voltage standard, microwave and far-infrared detectors, thermometry and tunnelling spectroscopy. Next the SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) is introduced and the operating principles of the two basic versions of SQUID are discussed. The book then considers some of the transducers that may be coupled to the input of the SQUID and discusses actual applications of SQUIDs in analogue measurements. The developments in the use of superconducting devices in the areas of fundamental particles and fundamental physics are then discussed.