Dependence of resistivity on surface profile in nanoscale metal films and wires

We extend quantum models of nanowire surface scattering to incorporate bulk resistivity and extract an expression for the increased resistivity due to surface roughness. To learn how to improve conductivity, we calculate conductivity degradation from individual wavelengths of surface roughness, and show how these can be convolved to give resistivity for arbitrary surfaces. We review measurements from Cu films and conclude that roughness at short wavelengths less than 100 nm dominates scattering, and that primarily specular scattering should be achievable for root-mean-square roughness below about 0.7 nm. © 2008 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2937085