Simulation and Experimental Research on Electrical Properties of AgSnO2 Contact Materials Doped with Rare Earth Element Ce

SnO
₂
in AgSnO
₂
contact material is a kind of wide band gap semiconductor material, near insulation. A method for rare earth element Ce doped SnO
₂
method is proposed to improve the electrical properties of SnO
₂
contact material. Based on the first principles of density functional theory (DFT), the SnO
₂
and Ce doped SnO
₂
with different ratios supercell models are established, meanwhile, the supercell models SnO
₂
and Sn
_1-x
Ce
_x
O
₂
(x = 0, 0.083, 0.125, 0.167, 0.25, 0.5) are simulated respectively. The results of band gap and density of states show that when the doping proportion of Ce is 0.125, the electron mobility is the highest and the conductivity is the best. Finally, the Ce doped AgSnO
₂
contact materials are prepared by sol-gel and powder metallurgy method and the contact resistance and arcing energy are measured by the simulated electrical contact test. The experimental results are in good consistence with the simulation results. It not only proves the correctness of the simulation method, but also provides a useful reference for further research on AgSnO
₂
contact material with better performance.