Electrical transport properties of Ag3Sn compound

The temperature behaviors of the electrical resistivity in polycrystalline Ag3Sn bulk samples were investigated experimentally. We found that the temperature dependence of resistivity shows concave function characteristics from 305 down to 26 K, and can be described by a parallel resistor model [H. Wiesmann et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 38 (1977) 782]. The resistivities of all samples reveal T2T2 behavior from 26 down to ∼10K. We compared our data to the existing theories in which the T2T2 dependence of resistivity has been proposed. However, we found none of them can describe the experimental data, and the physical mechanism of the T2T2 behavior of resistivity at low temperatures is still enigmatical.

► The ρ(T)ρ(T) of Ag3Sn reveals concave function characteristics at high temperature.
► T2T2 dependence of resistivity is observed at low temperature.
► Electron–phonon coupling constant is obtained for Ag3Sn compound.