Exploring superconductivity in low-Z materials at megabar pressures

We have developed high-pressure electrical transport methods and have applied them at record pressures of 260 GPa and at temperatures down to the millikelvin range. These experiments have been crucial for studies of metallization and the search for superconductivity in a number of elemental and simple compounds. Here we discuss recent applications of the techniques to various low-Z materials, including lithium, boron, nitrogen, hydrogen, and decaborane B10H14 at megabar pressures. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.