Ab Initio Calculations of the Physical Properties
of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides and Possible Routes
to High-T_c Superconductivity¹

E. G. Maksimov^a, S. V. Ebert^a, M. V. Magnitskaya^b, and A. E. Karakozov^b

^a Lebedev Physics Institute, Moscow, 119991 Russia

^b Vereshchagin Institute for High Pressure Physics, Troitsk, Moscow oblast, 142190 Russia

e-mail: maksimov@lpi.ru

Received March 6, 2007

Abstract—We report ab initio linear-response calculations of the phonon spectra and the electron–phonon
interaction for several transition metal carbides and nitrides in a NaCl-type structure. For NbC, the kinetic, opti-
cal, and superconducting properties are calculated in detail at various pressures and the normal-pressure results
are found to agree well with the experiment. Factors accounting for the relatively low critical temperatures T_c
in transition metal compounds with light elements are considered and the possible ways of increasing T_c are
discussed.

PACS numbers: 74.70.Ad, 63.20.Dj, 63.20.Kr

DOI: 10.1134/S1063776107090221

Pleiades Publishing home page | journal home page | top

If you have any problems with this server, contact webmaster.