Research on superconductivity is conducted in the Low Temperature Laboratory in the Physics Department at Ithaca College. This lab, headed by Matthew C. Sullivan, focuses on the study of the properties of the new high-temperature superconductors. These superconductors, with transition temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (with some as high as 130 K, or -225 °F), have been the source of intense research since their discovery in 1986.
Our research is based primarily on electronic transport measurements (resistivity, Hall effect, etc.) in different superconducting materials, both in a magnetic field and in zero magnetic field. We study the normal-to-superconducting phase transition in bulk single crystal superconductors and thin-film superconductors grown on an insulating substrate. In addition to electronic transport, we also study other properties of the materials, such as specific heat and magnetic susceptibility.