Simulation of electrical conduction in thin polycrystalline metallic films: Impact of microstructure

We examine the impact of microstructural features on the electrical conductivity of a thin metallic film using Monte Carlo simulation. In particular, we obtain the dependence of the conductivity (in the absence of surface scattering) on average grain size and electron scattering mechanisms, the latter parametrized by a transmission coefficient, for a model polycrystal generated by a Voronoi tessellation. We find that the conductivity can be described in limiting cases in terms of either a simplified hopping model or a trapping model. Finally, we compare our results with the Mayadas-Shatzkes model of grain-boundary scattering and with experimental resistivity measurements for polycrystalline copper thin films.