EFFECT OF SUBSTRATE RADIATION-DAMAGE ON THE STABILITY OF DISCONTINUOUS FILMS

Discontinuous metal films have numerous potential applications in physics and engineering devices. A principal problem is their instability with time which is thought to be due to island coalescence or agglomeration. Using evaporated gold films we studied the effect of pre-radiation damage of the substrate surface on resistance and strain gauge stability. Although some improvement was noted over unirradiated control samples, the irradiated samples nevertheless eventually became unstable. Comparison of the experimental data with theoretical formulae indicated that interisland distances are of the order of a few ångströms for the useful region of operation, in marked contrast with previous claims. © 1979.