Study on Electrical Properties of AgSnO2 Contact Materials Doped With Rare-Earth La, Ce, and Y

The proposed method is based on the first principles of density functional theory to calculate the electronic structure of SnO
₂
and rare-earth elements-doped SnO
₂
. The energy band and density of state of undoped SnO
₂
and SnO
₂
-X (La, Ce, and Y) are calculated and apply Origin Pro 9.0 for quantitative calculation. Conducting experimental verification of AgSnO
₂
and AgSnO
₂
-X (La, Ce, and Y), contact materials prepared by sol–gel and powder metallurgy methods and the contact resistance and arcing energy are measured by the simulated electrical contact test. In the simulation results of SnO
₂
-X (La, Ce, and Y), the relative electrical conductivity of Y-doped SnO
₂
is the largest. In the experimental results, the minimum and maximum values and the range of the variation of the arc energy and contact resistance after AgSnO
₂
-X (La, Ce, and Y) are reduced. The effect of Y-doped AgSnO
₂
is more obvious and has the highest density. The final simulation and experimental results can be well matched. The best electrical performance is Y-doped AgSnO
₂
, followed by La-doped AgSnO
₂
.