The presence of silver–oxygen complex species and the resistivity of biocidal silver films deposited by magnetron sputtering

Novel silver films exhibiting antimicrobial behaviour were produced by magnetron sputtering using a range of gas composition, gas pressure and power, and studied using electrical resistivity measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Careful interpretation of the resistivity data has provided an insight into the crystallinity of these films and was highly successful in explaining the adsorption of oxygen species on the silver surface. The roles of oxygen and microstructural features in explaining the unique properties of silver are discussed in this paper.