Dimension, size, and scattering impact on electrical resistivity of metallic thin films and nanowires

In the present work, the author focussed on the heat transfer properties of metallic thin films and nanowires. The impact of dimension, size and phonon scattering on electrical resistivity of metallic thin films and wires is studied using a quantitative approach. The study focusses on the variation in electrical resistivity in metallic thin films and wires of Cu, Ag, Au, Al, Co, Ni, Pt with the diameter or film thickness reduction. Wiedemann-Franz law is used to express the relative electrical resistivity in nanomaterial to counterpart bulk form. The study is done for nanostructures of different shapes and sizes. It is observed from model calculations that electrical resistivity in metallic thin films and wires depict drastic increase with size reduction to nanoregime. The variation in electrical resistivity with decrease in size of nanomaterial is found different for different dimensional nanomaterials due to change in the number of surface atoms and also for different values of surface roughness parameter. The present study examines the combined effect of dimension, size and phonon scattering on electrical resistivity of nanomaterial. The model’s output is represented graphically in figures alongside the available experimental data to allow for comparison and validation of the model. The present study helps to predict the electrical properties of metallic thin films and nanowires having high figure of merit and applications in optoelectronic devices.