Superconductivity and the disorder effect in Ag and Al double doped MgB2.

A series of polycrystalline bulk samples of Mg1-2x(AgAl)xB2 (0.0%<=x<=1.0%) has been synthesized by a solid state reaction method. The structure, Raman spectrum, and superconducting properties have been investigated by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and low-temperature resistivity measurements. It is found that the Ag, Al double doping causes the expansion of crystal lattice along the a- and c-axis orientations due to the substitution inducing ionic size variation. A redshift of peak position is observed in Raman spectra, which is ascribed to the crystal cell volume change inducing the variation of the phonon frequency. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is degressive with the doping level (x) increase. By the Ag and Al double doping, the hole concentration is kept to be unchanged in MgB2, which eliminates the effects of the charge carrier concentration change and band filling on Tc. It is suggested that the reason of the Tc suppression caused by the double doping is the co-operating results of the disorder effect and the chemical pressure effect induced by the chemical substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]