STRUCTURE AND SUPERCONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF Y-PD-B-C SYSTEM

A superconducting phase with transition temperature of 23 K found in t he Y-Pd-B-C system was identified to have a body-centered tetragonal s tructure with the lattice parameters of a = 0. 38 nm and c = 1. 08 nm. The phase is of a platelike shape embedded in a matrix of other phase s. The composition ratio of the superconducting phase determined using an electron probe X-ray microanalyzer is YPd2B2C1.5, although there m ay be uncertainty of the C concentration. The observation by high-reso lution transmission electron microscopy indicates that the crystal str ucture is very similar to that reported recently for the superconducti ng LuNi2B2C intermetallic compound.