A density functional study of pressure induced superconductivity in P and its implication for spintronics

TL;DR

This study uses density functional theory to explore pressure-induced superconductivity in phosphorus, predicting a superconducting phase at high pressure with potential applications in spintronics.

Contribution

It predicts a superconducting bcc phase of phosphorus at high pressure and suggests methods for experimental realization in thin films for spintronics.

Findings

Predicted superconducting transition temperature of 19 K for bcc P

Identified potential epitaxial growth templates for the high-pressure phase

Provided insights into pressure-induced phase stability of phosphorus

Abstract

The stability of high-pressure phases of P has been studied using density functional theory and the local density approximation. Using a linear response technique, we have calculated the phonon spectrum and electron-phonon interaction for bcc P and predict it to be superconducting with $T_c$ of 19 K. We propose that this phase might be realized in epitaxial thin films using templates such as V(100), Fe(100) or Cr(100) relevant to spintronics applications.