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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
Direct Measurement of the Electron Energy Relaxation Dynamics in Metallic Wires
Edouard Pinsolle1, Alexandre Rousseau1, Christian Lupien1
1Département de Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada.
Abstract:
We present measurements of the dynamical response of thermal noise to an ac excitation in conductors at low temperature. From the frequency dependence of this response function-the (noise) thermal impedance-in the range 1 kHz-1 GHz we obtain direct determinations of the inelastic relaxation times relevant in metallic wires at low temperature: the electron-phonon scattering time and the diffusion time of electrons along the wires. Combining these results with that of resistivity provides a measurement of heat capacity of samples made of thin film. The simplicity and reliability of this technique makes it very promising for future applications in other systems.
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