Discovery of superconducting quaternary Yâ€"Niâ€"Bâ€"C system, T c ∼ 12 K, and a brief review of superconducting and magnetic properties of RNi2B2C.

We give a brief account of the events that led to the discovery of the superconducting system Yâ€"Niâ€"Bâ€"C. In short, several unique properties of the single phase quaternary materials RNi2B2C are briefly discussed, such as certain aspects of coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in RNi2B2C, flux line lattices in RNi2B2C and the Kondo effect in YbNi2B2C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]