Measurements of conductivity of thin gold films at microwave frequencies employing resonant techniques

Quasi TE₀₁₁ mode cavity and split post dielectric resonator have been used to measure resistivity of very thin gold films deposited on single crystal quartz substrates. It has been found that a sharp transition of electrical properties takes place for films of thickness between from 4.5 nm and 8 nm. For the films thicker than 8 nm the resistivity was comparable to that of bulk materials, and its dependence on film thickness could be described by known theoretical models, while for films thinner than 4.5 nm the resistivity was few orders of magnitude larger. Presented techniques allow measurements of resistivity of thin films in the eight decades range.