- #1
christopher.s
- 32
- 4
I have been reading recently on the properties of evaporated thin film bismuth, particularly grain size and resistivity. Usually evaporated bismuth is amorphous and semimetallic, with very small grain size. Grain size can be increased and resistance lowered by annealing the film. It has been shown that the temperature of annealing as well as the cooling rate can have a dramatic effect on the resistance of bismuth. I was curious as to what would happen if the bismuth were under the influence of an electric field, by say passing a small current through the film as it were annealed. I'm not sure if it would have any effect at all on grain size or resistance, and to be honest I have basically no understanding of the physical mechanisms of annealing or what is happening on an atomic level. If anybody has some insight, or can offer explanations on what determines how the bismuth anneals atomically, I would appreciate it. Thanks!