The electrical conductivity of thin metal films with very smooth surfaces

Abstract

The electrical conductivity of continuous thin metal films with very smooth surfaces is treated. Using Fuchs' model with Fuchs' parameter p near 1, it is shown that the surface scattering can be treated to a good approximation by a mean free path method. The accuracy of this method is estimated, and the results are compared with the exact results of Fuchs. The method is also applied to the cases where (i) p is different for the two surfaces of the film, and (ii) p depends on the angle of incidence. In case (ii) it is argued that electrical conductivity measurements may indicate nearly specular surface scattering even when the surface of the film is far from atomically perfect. Other possible applications of the method are mentioned.