Pressure Dependence of Superconducting Transition Temperature of High-Pressure Metallic Te

Existing data at high pressures of Berman, Binzarov, and Kurkin show that the various metallic forms of Te have considerable variation of their superconduction temperatures, $T_c$, depending upon the phase and the pressure; the observed $T_c\text{'}\mathrm{s}$ ranged from 2.5 to 4.3°K over the pressure span of 40 to 150 kbar. The present experiments, with use of a diamond-tipped apparatus with a cryogenic arrangement, have extended the pressure range to over 300 kbar. The results indicate that a new metallic phase develops in the 150-180-kbar region, which has a higher $T_c$ of about 6.5°K.