Structural and electrical properties of a metallic rough-thin-film system deposited on liquid substrates

Abstract

A rough-thin-film system, deposited on silicone oil drop surfaces by a rf-magnetron sputtering method, has been fabricated and its structure as well as I-V characteristics have been studied. A characteristic surface morphology at the micrometer scale is observed. The anomalous deposition rate, which strongly depends on the nominal film thickness, can be interpreted under the assumption of the second evaporating and the penetrating effects. We find ${\mathit{I}}_{\mathit{c}}$\ensuremath{\propto}${\mathit{R}}_{0}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}$, with \ensuremath{\alpha}=0.52\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06, where ${\mathit{R}}_{0}$ and ${\mathit{I}}_{\mathit{c}}$ are the zero power resistance and the breakdown current, respectively. The importance of the liquid substrates is discussed. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.