Superconductivity and physical properties of a LaRhSn single crystal

Single crystals of LaRhSn have been grown and studied with respect to the electrical resistivity and specific heat, which were measured in the temperature range from 0.1 to 300 K in various magnetic fields. The compound was found to be superconducting at temperatures lower than Tc = 1.85 ± 0.05 K. The critical field Bc2 and also the temperature dependence Bc2(T) were found to be dependent on the geometry of the experiment with respect to the direction of the magnetic field (applied along the a- or c-axis). The electrical resistivity measurements at temperatures higher than 2 K revealed metallic behavior with a considerable anisotropy between the a-axis and the c-axis. The experimental results are also discussed in the light of our ab initio electronic-structure calculations.