Electron–phonon scattering in disordered metallic films

Abstract

The quantum interference between ‘pure’ electron–phonon and electron-boundary/impurity scattering drastically changes the electron–phonon relaxation rate. If impurities and boundaries vibrate in the same way as the host lattice, the electron–phonon relaxation rate is significantly decreased. In the presence of the scattering potential that does not vibrate with phonons (e.g. rigid boundaries, interelectron scattering) the relaxation rate is substantially enhanced. Current work reviews recent progress in the theoretical investigations, gives quantitative explanations of available low-temperature data, and presents original experimental results for ultrathin Hf at ultralow temperatures.