Electrical properties of thin oxidized aluminium films

Thin aluminium films of thickness 40 to 200 nm were deposited on to glass substrates at 573 K in a high vacuum. The deposition was carried out layer by layer and the interfaces between these layers were exposed to oxygen. The electrical resistivity was studied as a function of the film thickness, annealing time, annealing temperature and oxygen pressure. The temperature coefficient of resistivity and the activation energy for the conduction electrons were studied as a function of the film thickness and oxygen pressure. Fuchs-Sondheimer theory for electrical conduction was applied to the experimental results. The mean free path of the conduction electrons was calculated as a function of temperature and agreed well with the theoretical relation.