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  • Creation, stabilization, and investigation at ambient pressure of pressure-induced superconductivity in Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3

This content will become publicly available on February 11, 2026

Title: Creation, stabilization, and investigation at ambient pressure of pressure-induced superconductivity in Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3
In light of breakthroughs in superconductivity under high pressure, and considering that record critical temperatures (Tcs) across various systems have been achieved under high pressure, the primary challenge for higher Tcshould no longer solely be to increase Tcunder extreme conditions but also to reduce, or ideally eliminate, the need for applied pressure in retaining pressure-induced or -enhanced superconductivity. The topological semiconductor Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3(BST) was chosen to demonstrate our approach to addressing this challenge and exploring its intriguing physics. Under pressures up to ~50 GPa, three superconducting phases (BST-I, -II, and -III) were observed. A superconducting phase in BST-I appears at ~4 GPa, without a structural transition, suggesting the possible topological nature of this phase. Using the pressure-quench protocol (PQP) recently developed by us, we successfully retained this pressure-induced phase at ambient pressure and revealed the bulk nature of the state. Significantly, this demonstrates recovery of a pressure-quenched sample from a diamond anvil cell at room temperature with the pressure-induced phase retained at ambient pressure. Other superconducting phases were retained in BST-II and -III at ambient pressure and subjected to thermal and temporal stability testing. Superconductivity was also found in BST with Tcup to 10.2 K, the record for this compound series. While PQP maintains superconducting phases in BST at ambient pressure, both depressurization and PQP enhance its Tc, possibly due to microstructures formed during these processes, offering an added avenue to raise Tc. These findings are supported by our density-functional theory calculations.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2104881
PAR ID:
10582589
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
PNAS
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
122
Issue:
6
ISSN:
0027-8424
Page Range / eLocation ID:
e2423102122
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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