Superconductivity in the WP single crystal

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of superconductivity in high-quality WP single crystals, marking the first 5d transition-metal superconductor at ambient pressure in the MnP-type structure, with detailed measurements of its properties.

Contribution

It introduces WP as the first ambient-pressure superconductor in 5d transition-metal pnictides with MnP-type structure, expanding the understanding of superconductivity in transition-metal compounds.

Findings

Superconductivity observed at Tc = 0.84 K in WP crystals.

Large anisotropy parameter of about 2 in critical fields.

First demonstration of superconductivity in 5d transition-metal at ambient pressure.

Abstract

We report the discovery of superconductivity on high-quality single crystals of transition-metal pnictides WP grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) method. Bulk superconductivity is observed at Tc = 0.84 K under ambient pressure by electrical resistivity and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements. The effects of magnetic field on the superconducting transitions are studied, leading to a large anisotropy parameter around 2 with the in-plane and out-of-plane upper critical fields of Hc2=172 Oe and Hc2\=85 Oe, respectively. Our finding demonstrates that WP is the first superconductor in 5d transition-metal at ambient pressure in MnP-type, which will help to search for new superconductors in transition-metal pnictides.