Disorder-Broadened Phase Boundary with Enhanced Amorphous Superconductivity in Pressurized InTe.

As an empirical tool in materials science and engineering, the iconic phase diagram owes its robustness and practicality to the topological characteristics rooted in the celebrated Gibbs phase law free variables (F) = components (C) - phases (P) + 2. When crossing the phase diagram boundary, the structure transition occurs abruptly, bringing about an instantaneous change in physical properties and limited controllability on the boundaries (F = 1). Here, the sharp phase boundary is expanded to an amorphous transition region (F = 2) by partially disrupting the long-range translational symmetry, leading to a sequential crystalline-amorphous-crystalline (CAC) transition in a pressurized InTe single crystal.

Pressure-Induced Superconductivity and Topological Quantum Phase Transitions in the Topological Semimetal ZrTe.

Topological transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in spintronics and quantum computations. In this work, the structural and electronic properties of topological TMDCs candidate ZrTe are systematically investigated under high pressure. A pressure-induced Lifshitz transition is evidenced by the change of charge carrier type as well as the Fermi surface.

Real-Space Observation of Unidirectional Charge Density Wave and Complex Structural Modulation in the Pnictide Superconductor BaSrNiAs.

Here we use low-temperature and variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy to study the pnictide superconductor, BaSrNiAs. In the low-temperature phase (triclinic phase) of BaNiAs, we observe the unidirectional charge density wave (CDW) with = 1/3 on both the Ba and NiAs surfaces. On the NiAs surface of the triclinic BaNiAs, there are structural-modulation-induced chain-like superstructures with distinct periodicities.

Pressure-Tuning Superconductivity in Noncentrosymmetric Topological Materials ZrRuAs.

Recently, the hexagonal phase of ternary transition metal pnictides TT'X (T = Zr, Hf; T' = Ru; X = P, As), which are well-known noncentrosymmetric superconductors, were predicted to host nontrivial bulk topology. In this work, we systematically investigate the electronic responses of ZrRuAs to external pressure. At ambient pressure, ZrRuAs show superconductivity with ~ 7.

Caging-Pnictogen-Induced Superconductivity in Skutterudites IrX (X = As, P).

Here, we report on a new kind of compound, XIrX (X = P, As), the first hole-doped skutterudites superconductor. We provide atomic-resolution images of the caging As atoms using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). By inserting As atoms into the caged structure under a high pressure, superconductivity emerges with a maximum transition temperature () of 4.