Electrical characterization of zig-zag Aluminum thin films using experimental and theoretical methods

Zig-zag Al nanostructures were fabricated on the glass and steel using thermal evaporation technique. The structural, morphology and electrical properties of Al thin films were studied by using AFM, FESEM and four-point probe instrument. FESEM analysis showed that the grains are distributed on the zig-zag Al-glass and their shape is polygonal while the grains on the zig-zag Al-steel surface have a non-uniform distribution and the shape of the grains is oval. AFM analysis indicated the surface roughness of zig-zag Al-steel nanostructures is more than the zig-zag Al-glass. Moreover, the wrinkles on the zig-zag Al-steel and the small protuberances on the zig-zag Al-glass observed. The anisotropy of electrical was performed in two perpendicular directions x and y of the samples surface. The average electrical resistivity of the zig-zag Al films on glass and steel produced were obtained about 4.69×10-8 and 5.85×10-8 Ω.m, respectively. Simulation results by the perturbation method agree with the experimental results.