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Superconductivity in diamond

Author

Listed:
  • E. A. Ekimov

    (Russian Academy of Sciences)

  • V. A. Sidorov

    (Russian Academy of Sciences)

  • E. D. Bauer

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • N. N. Mel'nik

    (Russian Academy of Sciences)

  • N. J. Curro

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • J. D. Thompson

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • S. M. Stishov

    (Russian Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Diamond is an electrical insulator well known for its exceptional hardness. It also conducts heat even more effectively than copper, and can withstand very high electric fields1. With these physical properties, diamond is attractive for electronic applications2, particularly when charge carriers are introduced (by chemical doping) into the system. Boron has one less electron than carbon and, because of its small atomic radius, boron is relatively easily incorporated into diamond3; as boron acts as a charge acceptor, the resulting diamond is effectively hole-doped. Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond synthesized at high pressure (nearly 100,000 atmospheres) 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.

Suggested Citation

  • E. A. Ekimov & V. A. Sidorov & E. D. Bauer & N. N. Mel'nik & N. J. Curro & J. D. Thompson & S. M. Stishov, 2004. "Superconductivity in diamond," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6982), pages 542-545, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:428:y:2004:i:6982:d:10.1038_nature02449
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02449
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    Cited by:

    1. Souvik Bhattacharya & Jonathan Boyd & Sven Reichardt & Valentin Allard & Amir Hossein Talebi & Nicolò Maccaferri & Olga Shenderova & Aude L. Lereu & Ludger Wirtz & Giuseppe Strangi & R. Mohan Sankaran, 2025. "Intervalence plasmons in boron-doped diamond," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Caorong Zhang & Junwei Huang & Kun Zhai & Keivan Akhtari & Zhiwei Shen & Lingyi Ao & Zeya Li & Feng Qin & Yukai Chang & Ling Zhou & Ming Tang & Xueting Dai & Caiyu Qiu & Yi Zhang & Lin Wang & Zhongyua, 2022. "Valence-skipping and quasi-two-dimensionality of superconductivity in a van der Waals insulator," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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