Resistivity of thin Au films as a function of grain diameter and temperature

Abstract

In thin polycrystalline gold films of four different thicknesses the average grain diameter is varied by different heat treatments. The resistivity as a function of temperature and grain diameter can be analysed satisfactorily in terms of grain-boundary scattering alone. The result is identical with experiments in which the resistivity is measured as a function of the film thickness. Therefore grain-boundary scattering must be the dominant contribution to the excess thin-film resistivity in polycrystalline thin films. Only a rough estimate of the small amount of surface scattering can be given.