Superconductivity in diamond

E. A. Ekimov, V. A. Sidorov (), E. D. Bauer, N. N. Mel'nik, N. J. Curro, J. D. Thompson and S. M. Stishov
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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

Nature, 2004, vol. 428, issue 6982, 542-545

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1038/nature02449

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