Insulating Ultrathin Silica Films Formed by a Room‐Temperature Sol–Gel Process

A novel sol–gel approach for the deposition of ultrathin dielectric silica films on metals using a simple, atmospheric-pressure, room-temperature method is reported. High resistivities and intrinsically low capacitances are found. An electric equivalent circuit model (see Figure) is proposed, comprising parallel sub-pF capacitors, to rationalize the low capacitances observed.