Electronic, structural and thermodynamical properties of high-pressure prod
uced non-equilibrium superconductors Al1 -xSix have been studied. The exper
imental results indicate that the enhancement of the electron-phonon intera
ction with soft "cluster modes" is the origin of the tenfold increase of T-
c in these compounds. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.