A complete and comprehensive study of transport phenomena in thin continuous metal films, this book reviews work carried out on external-surface and grain-boundary electron scattering and proposes new theoretical equations for transport properties of these films. It presents a complete theoretical view of the field, and considers imperfection and impurity effects.

Thin films of conducting materials, such as metals, alloys and semiconductors are currently in use in many areas of science and technology, particularly in modern integrated circuit microelectronics that require high quality thin films for the manufacture of connection layers, resistors and ohmic contacts. These conducting films are also important for fundamental investigations in physics, radio-physics and physical chemistry. Physical Properties of Thin Metal Films provides a clear presentation of the complex physical properties particular to thin conducting films and includes the necessary theory, confirming experiments and applications. The volume will be an invaluable reference for graduates, engineers and scientists working in the electronics industry and fields of pure and applied science.

Physics of Thin Films: Advances in Research and Development, Volume 6 reviews the rapid progress that has been made in research and development concerning the physics of thin films, with emphasis on metallic films. Topics covered include anodic oxide films, thin metal films and wires, and multilayer magnetic films. This volume is comprised of five chapters and begins with a discussion on the dielectric properties and the technique of plasma anodization which are relevant to the applications of anodic oxide films in electronic devices. Conduction, polarization, and dielectric breakdown effects are also considered. The next chapter examines studies on size-dependent electrical conduction in thin metal films and wires, paying particular attention to both classical and quantum size effects and some of the anisotropic characteristics of epitaxial metal films. The reader is then introduced to the optical properties of metal films and interactions in multilayer magnetic films. This text concludes with a chapter that looks at diffusion in metallic films and presents experimental results for phase-forming systems, miscible systems, and lateral diffusion. This monograph will be of value to students and practitioners of physics, especially those interested in thin films.

The investigation of the physical properties of matter has progressed so much during the last hundred years that today physics is divided into a large group of special branches, which are often very distant from each other. These branches arise because of the vast extent of the science itself, and are distinguished by the particular area studied, the method of investigation and so on. An independent and important branch that has developed recently is the physics of thin films. This deals with systems which have only one common property, namely, that one of their dimensions is very small, though all other physical properties of such systems may be different, as well as methods of investigating them. Usually, we investigate the physical characteristics of three-dimensional bodies. Their characteristic prop::!rties are often related to a unit volume, i.e. it is assumed that they are volume-independent. This assumption is legitimate as long as the dimensions are 'normal', i.e. more or less within macroscopic limits; but as soon as one dimension becomes so small that there is a considerable increase in a surface-to-volume ratio, that assumption is no longer valid.