  Superconductivity was first observed more than a century ago, but the search
for new superconducting materials remains a challenge. The Cooper pairs in
superconductors are ideal embodiments of quantum entanglement. Thus, novel
superconductors can be critical for both learning about electronic systems in
condensed matter and for possible application in future quantum technologies.
Here two previously unreported materials, NbIr$_2$B$_2$ and TaIr$_2$B$_2$, are
presented with superconducting transitions at 7.2 and 5.2 K, respectively. They
display a unique noncentrosymmetric crystal structure, and for both compounds
the magnetic field that destroys the superconductivity at 0 K exceeds one of
the fundamental characteristics of conventional superconductors (the Pauli
limit), suggesting that the superconductivity may be unconventional. Supporting
this experimentally based deduction, first-principle calculations show a spin
split Fermi surface due to the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. These
materials may thus provide an excellent platform for the study of non-BCS
superconductivity in intermetallic compounds.
