title: Superconductivity and the periodic table: from elements to materials.
abstract: Based on the normal-state electronic band structure, the necessary condition for a metal to become a superconductor is the simultaneous occurrence of flat and steep bands at the Fermi level. The sufficient condition at least for conventional superconductors is a strong enough coupling of the flat band states to the lattice, e.g. via phonons. Selected elements (Te) and compounds of the rare earth metals (RE(2)C(3), REC(2), RE(2)X(2)C(2) with X=halogen) and MgB(2) serve as examples to illustrate the idea.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany a.simon@fkf.mpg.de.
authors: Arndt
authors: A
authors: Simon
keywords: carbide halides; carbides; magnesium diboride; rare earths; tellurium