Electrical properties of fine crystalline and amorphous metal films, obtained by low temperature condensation (Review)

Abstract

The electrical and superconducting properties of metallic films, obtained by condensation of molecular beams on a substrate cooled to the temperature of liquid helium, are examined. Such films have a fine crystalline disordered structure or are amorphous. This results in an appreciable change in properties and, in some cases, it leads to the appearance of a qualitatively new state. The effect of intercrystallite scattering on the electrical resistance of polycrystalline films, the relation between electrical resistance and the coordination structure of amorphous films, the change in Tc with dispersity and disorder of the structure, the effect of fluctuations on Tc, and the increase in the critical magnetic field with increasing distortion of the structure are discussed.