Applicability of discontinuous palladium films as strain gauges

Discontinuous palladium films were prepared by evaporation and sublimation. The variation of the direct current resistance of the as-deposited films with time was investigated in air at room temperature. Films prepared by sublimation exhibited better stability as compared with that of films prepared by evaporation. The piezoresistance of the discontinuous palladium films was measured at different strains and the gauge factor, v, was deduced. It was found that v of films prepared by sublimation was higher than that of films prepared by evaporation. Palladium films prepared by sublimation are thus good candidates as sensors for measuring extremely small strain.