In this paper we discuss the various effects on resistivity of thin metal films, concluding that grain boundary scattering and the material's electron-mean-free-path are the dominant factors. We also present an effective procedure for the fabrication of patterned ultra thin aluminum (sub 100 nm thick) structures on thermally grown SiO2 substrates, the results of which are compared to other commonly used electrode fabrication methods. A general 4-point probe measurement of an as-deposited 60 nm aluminum film's resistivity was performed. We also found our unique wet-etching method to deliver reproducible results with varying film thickness and yielding a favorable environment for the integration of nanomaterials. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.