Electrical resistivity and morphology of ultra thin Pt films grown by dc magnetron sputtering on SiO(2)

Ultra thin platinum films were grown by dc magnetron sputtering on thermally oxidized Si (100) substrates. The electrical resistance of the films was monitored in-situ during growth. The coalescence thickness was determined for various growth temperatures and found to increase from 1.3 nm for films grown at room temperature to 1.8 nm for films grown at 250 degrees C, while a continuous film was formed at a thickness of 3.9 nm at room temperature and 3.5 nm at 250 degrees C. The electrical resistivity increases with increased growth temperature, as well as the morphological grain size, and the surface roughness, measured with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).