Size effect on the electrical conductivity and longitudinal gauge factor of thin metal films

The electrical and piezoresistive properties of vacuum deposited films of copper, tungsten, platinum and gold were investigated in the thickness range from 100 to 1000 Å. Both the conductivity and the longitudinal strain coefficient of resistance exhibit a size dependence, that was interpreted by applying the Sondheimer theory of charge transport in thin films on the assumption that the reflection of electrons by the film surfaces is partially specular. The proportion of electrons elastically scattered has been deduced from considerations based on the anomalous skin effect. The calculations are in reasonable agreement with the observations; the discrepancies can be attributed to the chemical contamination of the samples and to departures of the surface structure from the idealized flat configuration assumed in the theoretical treatment.

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