Abstract
In this paper we present experimental results concerning the changes in the electrical resistance during aging in vacuum and in an atmosphere of dry air at 300– 400 K of discontinuous silver and copper films evaporated in vacuum onto a-C and a-SiO. The structure of the films was also investigated using transmission electron microscopy. It was found that silver and copper films were structurally unstable at relatively low temperatures (300–400 K). The largest changes in the resistance due to the breaking of metal paths were observed for maze films. As a result of the breaking of the metal paths, large three-dimensional polycrystalline particles were formed. In the case of films deposited on carbon, the large number of small (< 10 nm) particles formed, which interacted strongly with the substrate, remained even after repeated annealing of the films at 400 K. The presence of oxygen accelerated the aggregation of silver films by decreasing the metal-substrate interaction. In copper films partial bulk oxidation to Cu2O was observed in the presence of oxygen, which strongly influenced their aggregation and electrical resistance.
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