Inelastic life-time of the conduction electrons in some noble metal films

Magneto-conductance measurements of thin films of Cu, Ag and Au are reported. The measurements are evaluated with the theory of weak localization and yield for the noble metals a very good agreement with the theory in the whole field range up to 5T. No adjustment of the theoretical prefactor is necessary. The magneto-conductance curves show a pronounced structure caused by spin-orbit coupling. The measurements yield the inelastic life-time and the spin-orbit coupling of the conduction electrons for Cu, Ag and Au. _i obeys a 1/T ^p law withp=1.65.     

Scattering of conduction electrons by surface roughness in thin metal films

A fluctuation transport theory is applied to describe the extra resistivity of thin metal films due to electron scattering at rough surfaces. This scattering mechanism is described in terms of the surface profile autocorrelation. If the lateral extension of the surface structures exceeds the Fermi wavelength, the scattering can be described by a step density of terrace edges.     

A functional equation for the specular reflection of rays

This paper aims to generalize the "radiosity method" when applied to specular reflection. Within the field of thermics, the radiosity method is also called the "standard procedure." The integral equation for incident energy, which is usually derived for diffuse reflection, is replaced by a more appropriate functional equation. The latter is used to solve some specific problems and it is shown that all the classical features of specular reflection, for example, the existence of image sources, are embodied within this equation. This equation can be solved with the ray-tracing technique, despite the implemented mathematics being quite different. Several interesting features of the energy field are presented.     

A boundary that sustains a negligible specular reflection coefficient over a wide frequency band

In a previous paper the authors analyzed and discussed the specular reflection coefficient of a plane boundary comprised of a plate, a compliant layer, and a fluid. The analysis showed that a negligible specular reflection coefficient may be derived provided specific resonance conditions are met. The resonance of concern is that between the surface mass of the plate and the surface stiffness of the compliant layer. The conditions of resonance included the value that must be assigned to the loss factor in the compliant layer. In the present paper, an attempt is made to determine the conditions that must be placed on the surface stiffness of the compliant layer in order to increase the frequency range over which a negligible specular reflection coefficient may be maintained. The tolerances in these conditions are also estimated.     

Role of specular reflection of electrons in the radio frequency surface magneto impedance of metals

The effect of a parallel magnetic field on the 10-mHz surface resistance of gallium single crystals is reported. We suggest that the observed structure can be interpreted in terms of an angular dependence of the probability of specular reflection of the electron at the crystal surface. This model allows a quantitative determination from the data of the temperature-dependent electron mean free path for electron wave vectors with a narrow range that is determined by the magnetic field and crystal orientation.     

Geometrical resonance of the Rayleigh sound wave absorption as a method for direct measurements of the electron specular reflection coefficient from the metal surface

A theory of resonant absorption of the Rayleigh sound waves in metals has been developed for the case of weak magnetic fields (i.e. the Pippard type geometrical oscillations). The amplitude and shape of resonance lines have been studied in relation to the nature of electron reflection from the surface. It has been shown that observations of the geometrical resonance oscillations may serve for investigating directly surface reflectivity of the metal with respect to conduction electrons.     

Spin-echo measurements of the conduction electrons self-diffusion coefficient in a metal

The principle possibility of spin echo measurements of conduction electron orbital motion parameters is experimentally demonstrated, using metallic lithium as an example.     

Spin-flip scattering of conduction electrons by dislocations in a metal

The spin-flip scattering of conduction electrons by dislocations in metals with a strong spin-orbit coupling is considered. Calculations are performed in terms of the model spin-orbit potential describing the spin-flip scattering of conduction electrons. It is shown that deformation of the crystal lattice in a metal leads to a change in the structure factor. The core of a rectilinear edge dislocation is calculated by the molecular dynamics method. The results obtained are compared with the experimental data on conduction-electron spin resonance (CESR) in copper.     

Electric current distribution in a thin metal layer for various specular reflection coefficients of its surfaces

The distribution of electric current in a thin metal layer has been calculated for various specular reflection coefficients of its surfaces. The dependence of the conductivity on the distance from the lower surface of the layer has been analyzed. The Boltzmann kinetic equation in the relaxation time approximation has been used.     

Exact solutions for the discrete Boltzmann models with specular reflection

We construct exact (1+1)-dimensional solutions (space x, time t), in the presence of a purely reflecting well, for both the four velocity discrete Boltzmann model and the Broadwell model. These exact solutions, sums of two similarity shock waves, are positive for x0, t0.     

Room temperature Compton profiles of conduction electrons in α-Ga metal

Room temperature Compton profiles of momentum distribution of conduction electrons in α -Ga metal are calculated in band model. For this purpose, the conduction electron wave functions are determined in a temperature-dependent non-local model potential. The profiles calculated along the crystallographic directions, (100), (010), and (001) are found to be nearly isotropic. This conclusion is in reasonable agreement with experimental observations     

Total internal reflection at a boundary between vacuum and an optical medium with quasi-zero refractive index

It is shown that, on a surface of optical transparency of a medium with quasi-zero refractive index, surface optical waves traveling along the surface can be excited for different angles of incidence of external radiation. Expressions for the amplitudes of nonspecular reflection and transmission of light waves at an inhomogeneous boundary between two media are derived. Using these expressions, the boundary reflectance and transmittance for different angles of incidence and refraction can be calculated.     

Photon reflection at the boundary of an inverted medium

The index change near a quantum transition is shown to cause significant feedback into a gain medium. Criteria are given for the onset of self-lasing in an extended material. The distortion of a reflected pulse is also considered.     

Influence of the quantum size effect for grazing electrons on the electronic conductivity of metal films

The thickness dependence of the electronic conductivity of thin (5–150 nm) single-crystal (100) films of refractory metals is investigated at different temperatures ranging from 4.2 K to room temperature. Regions of square-root, quasilinear, and quadratic dependences are observed. The quasilinear thickness dependence is explained by the influence of quantum effects on the transverse motion of electrons in the case when electron scattering by the film surfaces dominates. For macroscopic film thicknesses 30–50 nm, much greater than the Fermi wavelength of an electron, quantum corrections to the electronic conductivity reach values of the order of 50%. This is a consequence of the quantum size effect for grazing electrons, which leads to an anomaly in electron scattering by the film surfaces. The region of the quadratic thickness dependence corresponds to the quantum limit, and the square-root region corresponds to the classical limit. The effect is explained in a quasiclassical two-parameter model (the effective angle α* for small-angle electrons and the parameter γ, equal to the ratio of this angle to the diffraction angle) that takes into account the diffraction angular limits for grazing electrons. The effect occurs for parameters α*≪1 and γ∼1 and differs from the “ordinary” quantum size effect. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 11, 693–698 (10 December 1997)