A group of Russian scientists from Siberia and the Far East has made a breakthrough in the creation of ultra-thin gold films. The developed method allows forming a material with a thickness of only 5 nanometers at normal room temperature.
The technology is based on pulsed laser deposition in a rarefied atmosphere. The scientists carefully selected the parameters of pressure and laser pulse energy, which made it possible to achieve a controlled distribution of gold atom energy. This became the key to creating a continuous conductive film.
The main advantage of the new method is its compatibility with existing production processes. Unlike traditional solutions, the new method does not require complex structures and special conditions. The technology is easy to implement, scalable, and does not use rare or toxic materials.
The created material retains its properties on various types of substrates, including silicon and quartz, and also demonstrates high thermal stability. This opens up wide opportunities for application in modern electronics — from flexible displays to transparent solar panels, neurointerfaces, and sensor systems.
The development was carried out by a team of scientists from the S.S. Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS, the A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Novosibirsk State University, the Institute of Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, and the Far Eastern Federal University. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation and published in the authoritative journal Applied Surface Science.