THE ELECTRICAL-RESISTANCE OF GADOLINIUM FILMS

We report the investigation of the electrical resistance of thin gadol inium films deposited onto Coming glass (7059) substrates at room temp erature. During the deposition, the pressure reached about 3 x 10(-9) torr with a deposition rate of 10 angstrom s-1. The mechanisms of the conduction in gadolinium film have been identified. In the percolation region, 28 angstrom less-than-or-equal-to d less-than-or-equal-to 58 angstrom, the conductivity of the film is well described by (d - d(c)) t, where t = 1.27 +/- 0.01, and d(c) = (23.0 +/- 0.1) angstrom are in very good agreement with the two-dimensional percolation theory.