6 research outputs found
Superconductivity in diamond
We report the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond
synthesized at high pressure (8-9 GPa) and temperature (2,500-2,800 K).
Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and
field-dependent resistance measurements show that boron-doped diamond is a
bulk, type-II superconductor below the superconducting transition temperature
Tc=4 K; superconductivity survives in a magnetic field up to Hc2(0)=3.5 T. The
discovery of superconductivity in diamond-structured carbon suggests that Si
and Ge, which also form in the diamond structure, may similarly exhibit
superconductivity under the appropriate conditions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Metastable high-pressure phases of low-Z compounds: creation of a new chemistry or a prompt for old principles?
Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system
Superconductivity in doped cubic silicon
International audienceAlthough the local resistivity of semiconducting silicon in its standard crystalline form can be changed by many orders of magnitude by doping with elements, superconductivity has so far never been achieved. Hybrid devices combining silicon's semiconducting properties and superconductivity have therefore remained largely underdeveloped. Here we report that superconductivity can be induced when boron is locally introduced into silicon at concentrations above its equilibrium solubility. For sufficiently high boron doping (typically 100 p.p.m.) silicon becomes metallic(1). We find that at a higher boron concentration of several per cent, achieved by gas immersion laser doping, silicon becomes superconducting. Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements show that boron-doped silicon (Si:B) made in this way is a superconductor below a transition temperature T-c approximate to 0.35 K, with a critical field of about 0.4 T. Ab initio calculations, corroborated by Raman measurements, strongly suggest that doping is substitutional. The calculated electron-phonon coupling strength is found to be consistent with a conventional phonon-mediated coupling mechanism(2). Our findings will facilitate the fabrication of new silicon-based superconducting nano-structures and mesoscopic devices with high-quality interfaces