Superconductivity of MI(MII0.5, Si0.5)2 (MI=Sr and Ba, MII=Al and Ga), ternary silicides with the AlB2-type structure

We have investigated the ternary noncentrosymmetric superconductors TaXSi (X=Re, Ru) by magnetization, resistivity, and specific heat measurements. The samples crystallize in orthorhombic TiFeSi structure having superconducting transition Tc = 5.32 K and 3.91 K, for TaReSi and TaRuSi respectively. Specific heat measurements indicated an s-wave nature of both materials with a moderately coupled nature. However, a low value of specific heat jump and the concave nature of the up...

We report the discovery of superconductivity at Tc = 3.7 K in the new ternary lithium silicide Li2IrSi3. The crystal structure of Li2IrSi3 consists of IrSi6 antiprisms connected by Si triangles, giving rise to a three dimensional framework of covalent Si-Si and Si-Ir bonds. Electronic specific-heat in superconducting phase suggests that Li2IrSi3 is a BCS weak-coupling superconductor.

Resistivity and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements on Ba2Sn3Sb6 and SrSn3Sb4 indicate that these Zintl compounds display a transition to a superconducting phase at Tc = 3.9 K. The Meissner effect was observed for Ba2Sn3Sb6 under an applied field of 25 Oe. The signatures for superconductivity, such as high and low velocity conduction electrons and lone pairs, are present for both of these compounds.

We present a theoretical investigation on electron-phonon superconductivity of honeycomb MX$_2$ layered structures. Where X is one element of the group-IV (C, Si or Ge) and M an alkali or an alkaline-earth metal. Among the studied composition we predict a $T_c$ of 7 K in RbGe$_2$, 9 K in RbSi$_2$ and 11 K in SrC$_2$. All these compounds feature a strongly anisotropic superconducting gap. Our results show that despite the different doping and structural properties, the three f...

We report on existence of superconductivity in YIr2Si2 and LaIr2Si2 compounds in relation to crystal structure. The two compounds crystallize in two structural polymorphs, both tetragonal. The high temperature polymorph (HTP) adopts the CaBe2Ge2-structure type (space group P4/nmm) while the low temperature polymorph (LTP) is of the ThCr2Si2 type (I4/mmm). By studying polycrystals prepared by arc melting we have observed that the rapidly cooled samples retain the HTP even at r...

We report the discovery of superconductivity in the ternary aluminide Nb$_{5}$Sn$_{2}$Al, which crystallizes in the W$_{5}$Si$_{3}$-type structure with one-dimensional Nb chains along the $c$-axis. It is found that the compound has a multiband nature and becomes a weakly coupled, type-II superconductor below 2.0 K. The bulk nature of superconductivity is confirmed by the specific heat jump, whose temperature dependence shows apparent deviation from a single isotropic gap beha...

We demonstrate the emergence of superconductivity in pseudo-binary silicide SrNixSi2-x. The compound exhibits a structural phase transition from the cubic SrSi2-type structure (P4132) to the hexagonal AlB2-type structure (P6/mmm) upon substituting Ni for Si at approximately x = 0.1. The hexagonal structure is stabilized in the range of 0.1 < x < 0.7. The superconducting phase appears in the vicinity of the structural phase boundary. Ni acts as a nonmagnetic dopant, as confirm...

A topical overview on the state of the art and science of superconducting materials is presented. The relation of atomic structure and suggested superconductivity mechanisms as well as possible applications are discussed for the various families of superconducting materials discovered within the last 25 years.

By substituting the Fe with the 5d-transition metal Ir in SrFe2As2, we have successfully synthesized the superconductor SrFe2-xIrxAs2 with Tc = 22.3 K at x = 0.5. X-ray diffraction indicates that the material has formed the ThCr2Si2-type structure with a space group I4/mmm. The temperature dependence of resistivity and dc magnetization both reveal sharp superconducting transitions at around 22 K. An estimate on the diamagnetization signal reveals a high Meissner shielding vol...

Heat capacity, resistivity, and magnetic susceptibility measurements confirm bulk superconductivity in single crystals of BaIr$_2$P$_2$ (T$_c$=2.1K) and BaRh$_2$P$_2$ (T$_c$ = 1.0 K). These compounds form in the ThCr$_2$Si$_2$ (122) structure so they are isostructural to both the Ni and Fe pnictides but not isoelectronic to either of them. This illustrates the importance of structure for the occurrence of superconductivity in the 122 pnictides. Additionally, a comparison betw...