  The synthesis and crystallography, magnetic susceptibility chi, magnetization
M, specific heat Cp, in-plane electrical resistivity rho and in-plane magnetic
penetration depth measurements are reported for single crystals of APd2As2 (A =
Ca, Sr, Ba) versus temperature T and magnetic field H. The crystals were grown
using PdAs self-flux. CaPd2As2 and SrPd2As2 crystallize in a collapsed
body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure (I4/mmm), whereas BaPd2As2
crystallizes in the primitive tetragonal CeMg2Si2-type structure (P4/mmm), in
agreement with literature data. The rho(T) data exhibit metallic behavior for
all three compounds. Bulk superconductivity is reported for CaPd2As2 and
SrPd2As2 below Tc = 1.27 and 0.92 K, respectively, whereas only a trace of
superconductivity is found in BaPd2As2. No other phase transitions were
observed. The chi(T) and M(H) data reveal anisotropic diamagnetism in the
normal state, with chi_c > chi_ab for CaPd2As2 and BaPd2As2, and chi_c < chi_ab
for SrPd2As2. The normal and superconducting state data indicate that CaPd2As2
and SrPd2As2 are conventional type-II nodeless s-wave electron-phonon
superconductors. The electronic superconducting-state heat capacity data for
CaPd2As2, which has an extremely sharp heat capacity jump at Tc, are analyzed
using our recent elaboration of the alpha-model of the BCS theory of
superconductivity, which indicates that the s-wave gap in this compound is
anisotropic in momentum space.

Superconductivity;Materials Science