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Electrical transport properties of thin cadmium films at low temperatures

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Abstract

We report here the results of an extensive study of localization and electron-electron interaction effects in thin cadmium films with thickness ranging from 80 Å to 350 Å. Measurements of the resistance as a function of both temperature and magnetic field have allowed us to separate the contributions of localization and electron-electron interaction. The low resistive films of thicknesses 300 Å and 350 Å do not show any localization. The resistance of these samples decreases logarithmically with decreasing temperature below 10 K, while a ln(T) increases in resistance is observed for the high resistive films of thickness in the range of 80–120 Å. Magnetoresistance of low resistive samples obeys the expression ΔR(H)/R(O)=AT n. But, both the resistance and magnetoconductance of the high resistive films are well explained by weak localization and electron-electron interaction effect. From the magnetoconductance measurement, we have calculated the inelastic scattering time (τ i ) and the spin-orbit scattering time (τ so ). The magnitude of spin-orbit scattering time is smaller than the inelastic scattering time. The inelastic scattering has been shown to arise due to the electron-electron scattering and the absolute magnitude of this scattering rate agrees reasonably well with the theory within the temperature range 1.8 K≤T≤5 K. At higher temperature (5 K<T≤20 K), the inelastic scattering time obeys the expression τ i ∝T −2, due to electronphonon scattering.

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  1. Materials Science Department, Jadavpur, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 700032, Calcutta, India

    A. K. Meikap, A. Das & S. Chatterjee

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Meikap, A.K., Das, A. & Chatterjee, S. Electrical transport properties of thin cadmium films at low temperatures. J Low Temp Phys 90, 281–304 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00682003

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