Au and Ag metal films sputtered on printer paper

Abstract

Paper is a low-cost, foldable, lightweight material that can be fabricated at thin sheets, easily stackable, stored and transported; it is currently being investigated as substrate for one-cent sensors fabrication [1] and for foldable electronics applications [2]. In this work, sputtered metal films on printer paper are studied for use as foldable and low-cost templates [3]. Two kinds of commercially available paper sheets have been used: i) uncoated 80 g/m2 printer paper, and ii) coated 200 g/m2 art paper with single-side glossy finish (the one used for deposition). Ultra-high vacuum DC magnetron sputtering was employed for depositing Au or Ag thin films; their surface morphology, crystal structure, and resistivity have been studied by optical and atomic force microscopies, X-ray diffraction and the Van der Pauw method, respectively. We find that paper morphology dominates film properties and the maximum film resistivity is obtained at the films deposited on the fibrous 80 g/m2 paper (17.5 μΩcm for Au and 12.1 μΩcm for Ag). Lower values are obtained for the 200 g/m2 paper (10.4 μΩcm for Au and 4.1 μΩcm for Ag). The potential of the investigated templates for electronics and sensor applications will be discussed.