Lattice Distortion Spectrum of Evaporated Gold

Abstract

Gold was deposited in various pressures of nitrogen from 0.001μ to 110μ at low temperatures. The electrical resistance of the gold film was observed to decrease as it warmed, enabling the distribution of lattice distortions to be computed as a function of decay energy. The distortion spectrum from 70·10⁻¹⁴ to 130·10⁻¹⁴ erg was found to consist of three peaks—one at 80·10⁻¹⁴, one at 100·10⁻¹⁴, and one at 120·10⁻¹⁴ erg. The relative number of distortions for a particular decay energy was found to decrease as the nitrogen pressure increased. The final resistivities of the gold films were shown to be dependent on the film thickness over the range 40A to 420A in a manner which agreed with theory and gave a value of 970A for the mean free path of the conduction electrons.