ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES OF THIN GOLD-FILMS ON GLASS SUBSTRATES

Thin gold films of various thicknesses were evaporated onto float glass substrates under ultra-high vacuum conditions and investigated using electrical resistivity measurements as well as scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Suitable deposition and annealing parameters minimized the resistivity of the films, and large parts of the surfaces consisted of smooth, close-packed and stepped (111) terraces, at which the conduction electrons could be specularly reflected. Although the mean free path of the conduction electrons exceeded the film thicknesses, the first tunneling spectroscopic data of these films did not show the presence of discrete electronic (standing wave) states (Quantum Size Effect).