Strain Dependence of the Resistivity of Silver Films

Abstract
The strain dependence of the resistance of thin epitaxial films of silver on mica has been measured for film thicknesses between 300 and 1400 Å, in the temperature range 200°–350°K. Analysis of the data includes geometrical and strain corrections, and considers the possible deviation from bulk of both the mechanical and electrical properties of the films. The films show a strain dependence of the resistivity equal to that of bulk silver, with deviations in individual films up to 30%. The effect is temperature independent, and shows no size effect. It is too small to account for the observed temperature variation of the film resistivities, which is smaller than in bulk, on the basis of strain due to the mismatch of thermal expansion of films and substrate.