The enhancement of superconducting transition temperature in yttrium sesquicarbide system, Y2C3, with the maximum Tc of Tc=18K

TL;DR

This study reports the synthesis of yttrium sesquicarbide with an enhanced superconducting transition temperature reaching 18K, surpassing previous records, and discusses its structural and magnetic properties.

Contribution

The paper presents the successful synthesis of a new high-Tc phase of Y2C3 with Tc up to 18K, higher than previously reported.

Findings

Maximum Tc achieved at 18K

Y2C3 exhibits type-II superconductivity

Tc varies with sintering conditions

Abstract

We discovered the enhancement of superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in yttrium sesquicarbide system with the maximum Tc of Tc=18K and their superconducting properties were discussed. The crystal structure of Y2C3 is the body-centered cubic (Pu2C3-type) structure, and the lattice parameters are varied with the heat treatment conditions. The magnetization (M-H) curves of this compound showed a typical type-II superconducting behavior, and the lower critical field, Hc1(0), is 3.5mT. The Tc-value in this system was changed in the range from 15K to 18K, depending on the sintering conditions. In a previous report by Krupka et al., maximum Tc in Y2C3 was observed at 11.5K by the magnetic measurements. So we successfully synthesized the new high-Tc phase in Y2C3.