Resistivity of Nickel Thin Films

As metal films get thinner, their resistivity increases. We study this phenomenon using nickel films. The nickel films are made in a vacuum system with pressures below 10\textasciicircum -7 Torr. A nickel filament is heated to 1200\textdegree C to sublimate the nickel onto our glass substrate. A four-point measuring probe was used to measure voltage drops across the film at known currents. This gave a sheet resistance. Thickness of the thin films was verified by images on a scanning electron microscope. Thicknesses varied from 40 nm -- 255 nm. Resistivity of films were calculated to be between 22 - 147 $\Omega $ nm. A graph of resistivity vs thickness will be presented and discussed on this poster.