Conducting and reflecting properties of nanometer-width films of various metals

Abstract

The conducting and reflecting properties of silver, gold, nickel, iron, chromium, and titanium films are investigated. It is shown that a low conductivity of films relative to bulk materials results from the amorphism of the films and the porosity of their substrates. Two different techniques for measuring the film conductivity are compared: a contact technique and a reflection technique. It is shown that the conductivity values obtained via the two techniques are of the same order of magnitude but may differ by a factor of up to 4.