Transmittance and resistivity of semicontinuous copper films prepared by pulsed-laser deposition

Thin copper films were grown on glass by pulsed-laser deposition. The simul taneous in situ monitoring of the electrical resistance and optical transmi ttance of the growing film yielded highly reproducible and consistent data about percolation onset and film conductivity, both being useful indicators of film quality. When prepared under favorable conditions, films as thin a s 1.5 nm would percolate, and became fully continuous at 5 nm, with conduct ivity reaching 30% of that of bulk copper. (C) 2000 American Institute of P hysics. [S0003-6951(00)00234-5].